Playing Matchmaker
by Becks Rylynn
Summary: Sequel to 'everything and in between'. With one week before his father's wedding, Ben Winchester must takes matters of the heart into his own hands...AU. DISCONTINUED!
1. Prologue

AN: And here it is. The long awaited sequel to 'everything and in between'. I know it took me forever to get this started, but hey, better later than never. I should warn you now though, updates won't be as quick as some of my other stories. Anyways, I won't waste a bunch of time rambling and I'll let you read the story. Hope you enjoy.

Disclaimer: I do not own Supernatural or any of the characters. I do own Mia Karpentar, even though I kind of wish I didn't.

* * *

**Playing Matchmaker**

Written by Becks Rylynn

* * *

_Prologue:_

Ben Winchester waved goodbye to his best friend, Lucas Barr - an odd boy with floppy red hair and a passion for crazy let's-make-money-quick schemes - and shifted his backpack, turning to the house in front of him with a small sigh. He really hoped Mia and her high voice weren't in there. If he was going to have to deal with her for however long this particular marriage lasted, he didn't want to deal with her now. He wasn't in the mood to pretend to smile at something she said. Actually, if he was being honest, he was never in the mood for that. Honestly, how did his father _find_ these women?

When he pushed open the door, he opened his mouth to annouce his presence, but the distinct sound of arguing from the kitchen had him snapping his jaw shut so fast it made a small snapping noise and he grimaced slightly in pain.

His father and Ruby were arguing.

What a freakin' _shock._

A true Winchester grin that lit up his face and as quiet as he could, Ben moved closer to the kitchen. It wasn't evesdropping, _really_, it wasn't his fault Dean and Ruby couldn't see him. Yep, that was his story and he was sticking to it.

In the kitchen, Ruby's blue eyes shone with frustration as she shoved a piece of paper at Dean, placing her hands on her hips and drawing her mouth into a thin line. ''What the fuck is this?''

''Uh...'' Dean looked down at the paper, scanning it quickly. ''You are cordially invited to....'' He trailed off and smiled sheepishly. _''Oh.''_

''Yeah, 'oh','' she sneered and took a step closer. Dean had to force himself not to take a step back. Hey, she could be very scary when she wanted to be. ''Dean, I told you when you proposed to her, I am _not_ going to another one of your weddings, you manwhore.'' She glared at him, and turned to go, fully prepared to stalk away but he grabbed her arm and spun her around, pulling her back towards him.

''Whoa, whoa, whoa, wait just a minute, Blondie. You can't just_ not _go.''

''And why not?''

''Because...Because...you're...you're _Ruby_.''

She blinked and thought over his words for a moment before frowning and shaking her head. ''I don't like the way that sounds, Dean.''

''Ben needs you there,'' he said finally, wincing at the slight desperate note in his voice. ''You know, make all the other kids jealous.'' He smirked and snapped his fingers, eyes lighting up like he had just gotten the smartest idea he had ever had. ''You could be his date.'' She narrowed her eyes, unimpressed and punched him in the shoulder, hard enough for his grip on her to loosen. ''Okay, _ow_. Watch the demon strength there, Rubes.''

_''Do not call me that, you jackass!''_

''Someone's testy. Is it that time of the month already?''

''Dean,'' she smiled, like she was actually happy and not seething in anger. He should have known not to trust that smile. That smile was the smile of danger.

Outside, in his hiding place behind the couch, Ben winced. He recognized that look. That look meant _bad things _for his father.

Ruby wrapped her arms around Dean's neck and leaned closer. ''I want you to know something.'' She bat her eyelashes and her sweet, nearly seductive smile became an ugly sneer. ''I'm thinking about maiming you right now.''

Dean let out a breath he hadn't known he was holding, but smirked anyways and pretended to be totally unaffected. ''Oh, you know you love me, baby.''

''Lucifer help me.'' And she didn't think he heard her, but he did.

The front door opened with a crash and a shrill voice rang out making Ben grimace. ''Yoohoo! Darling, I'm home!''

Wonderful.

Barbie's back to the dreamhouse.

Dean and Ruby all but stumbled away from each other and pasted bright and fake smiles on their faces as Dean's young fiancee waltzed into the kitchen, teetering precariously on heels that had probably cost more then the house they were currently standing in. However, as soon as she saw Ruby the smile dropped off her face. ''Oh!'' Quickly regaining her composure she tried to smile and make it look real, but couldn't quite manage it. Acting was not Mia's strong suit. Shopping was. With the way that girl spent, they were going to be out on the streets by the new year. Mechanics didn't get paid super, you know. ''Ruby,'' the brunette's voice was practically dripping with venom. ''You're...you're here. What a wonderful surprise.''

Not one of Dean's wives had ever trusted Ruby alone with their husband.

Their concerns weren't exactly unfounded.

Ruby opened her mouth to say something undoubtedly negative, but one sharp look from Dean sent her just-for-Dean's-girls smile falling across her lips. ''Oh, I'm just here to see Ben, Mia, you don't have to worry about me stealing him away from you.'' She laughed and started to move out of the room, her heels clicking on the floor, breaking the silence between the three people stuck in a love triangle. As soon as she was behind Mia's back, Ruby turned and imitated shooting herself. Dean glared at her, and resisted the urge to roll his eyes. She smirked in response. ''I'll see you two horndogs later!'' She was out of the kitchen and halfway across the living room when she stopped in her tracks.

Ben slapped hand over his mouth to quiet his breathing, but it was too late. Damn. He should have known. He never could hide from Ruby. Actually, no one could ever hide from Ruby....

Ruby leaned down, grabbed his ear and hauled him to his feet. ''Hi there,'' she smiled pleasantly and cocked a perfect eyebrow. ''How's the evesdropping going?''

''I was _so_ not evesdropping!'' Ben folded his arms across his chest and stuck his nose up. ''That would be rude. For your information, I was...looking for my contact lense.''

''Mmmhmm, Ben, you don't wear contact lenses.''

''I _could_!''

''But you _don't_.''

He silenced and blinked, trying to come up with something to say. Finally, he took a step forwards and grasped her jacket in desperation. ''Ruby, _please_ don't make me go to this wedding alone! I can't stand these things! People I don't even know come up to me and pinch my cheeks. Do you know what it's like to spend an entire night getting your cheeks pinched? It's _torture_.'' He paused and Ruby opened her mouth to speak, sure he must have been finished, but he simply sucked in a breath and continued. ''Plus, Mia's parents are going to be there, they're flying in all the way from Conneticut you know, and from what I've heard they're really not happy that their _fourteen year old _daughter is marrying the big scary mechanic.''

''Okay, first of all, get your grubby little hands off of me, Ben Winchester, I don't know where those things have been.'' Ruby pried his hands from her jacket and crossed her arms. ''And second of all, Mia is not fourteen, she's twenty one.'' A giggle sounded from the kitchen and Ruby frowned, tilting her head to the side thoughtfully. ''Well, she's at least eighteen....'' Another giggle. ''....I think.''

''Ru-_by_!''

''Oh, take a fucking pill, kid, I'll go to the wedding. Stupid Winchester's and their damn eyes.''

Ben smiled happily. ''If it makes you feel better, I think you look hot in those dresses you always wear to Dad's weddings.''

''It doesn't, but thanks,'' In a moment of vanity - very uncommon for Ruby - she smiled proudly and expertly flipped her blond hair. ''I think so too.'' At Ben's look, she snapped herself out of her second of vanity and sent a glance towards the kitchen. Ben could clearly see the longing that flashed on her face for half a second. But it was gone before he could say anything. The blonde demon who had become somewhat family over the years, sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose. ''I just know I'm going to regret this.''

--

Ben fell back onto his bed, holding his cellphone to his ear, eyes moving to the ceiling above him. ''Luke, can you please stop talking about your freakin' pimples and listen to me?''

_''But I'm telling you, Benny, I have one that looks just like Mrs. Kransky's crooked nose and it's freaking me out!''_

The thirteen year old Winchester rolled his eyes. ''_Lucas Barr_, this is important. My Dad is about to make the biggest mistake of his life.''

_''All the other marriages weren't mistakes?''_

''This is bigger. Ruby can't take much more of this crap he's putting her through. For god's sake, I can't take much more of this crap. You know, sometimes I'm embarassed to be associated with these morons. They were_ supposed _to get together after Hailey left, but God knows they never do what they're _supposed_ to. Oh no. Dad had to go and meet the underage ditz and decide ''oh yeah,_ this _is the girl for me.'' I'm beginning to think there's something seriously wrong with my Dad. What are the symptoms of a brain tumor?'' He paused, to breathe, and then smiled, like he was trying to convince Lucas, even though Lucas couldn't see him. ''So, are you going to help me?''

_''You practice that speech?''_

''A little.''

_''Well....what's your plan? You do have a plan right?''_

Huh. A plan. Yeah, that might be a good idea. ''....My plan is to stop the wedding and get my Dad and Ruby together. Are you in or out?''

_''Oh! Oh! That's what she said! That's what she said!''_

Ben groaned and dropped his head into his hand, shaking his head. ''Oh, _geez_.'' Wasn't he supposed to be the Winchester here? Lucas definitely had a Dean-like sense of humor.

_''Sorry. Sorry. It just called out to me. Let me ask you a question. Does this plan involve...mayhem?''_

''Mayhem all around, dude.'' In all truth, Ben wasn't exactly sure what this plan was going to involve. But, come on, he was breaking up a wedding here, that had to have some mayhem, right?

_''I'm in.''_

''That's what he said.''

_''Yeah, baby!''_

Ben smirked. Most boys his age would feel at least some remorse for planning to break up their father's relationship. Ben Winchester was not most boys. ''Okay, phase one starts tomorrow night.'' Once again, he wasn't really sure what phase one _was_, but it sounded very cool. Very James Bond, don't you think?

_''Oooh, phase one. Very official. Hey! Wait a minute, the play's tomorrow night. Ben, I'm not missing that play, it's my big break! I'm going to be discovered there! Do you know what that means, Benny?! Cha-ching, baby! I'm going to be famous and I'm going to be rich and I'm going to have babes hanging off my arms!''_

''Dude, you're playing Snoopy.''

_''Snoopy is a very complex character!''_

''You're such a girl.''

_''Whatever, Mr I-Take-Longer-In-Front-Of-The-Mirror-Then-My-Barbie-Doll-Step-Mom.''_

''She ain't my step-mom yet, buddy, which means I still have a shot, and the plan starts after the play. At the after party.'' The after party. Ah, yes. Mia was quite clever when it had to do with partying. When she heard about Ben's play, she had immediately proceeded to insist on having a party for him afterwards. If you had any brains at all, you would realize that was her clever way of getting the engagement party Dean had forbid when he proposed. Ben rolled his eyes.

_Yeah, Dad, she's a real winner._

''We have one week before the wedding, Lucas. That means one week to sabatoge an entire wedding and get the two most stubbornest people on earth together.''

_''Is stubbornest even a word?''_

''Lucas Barr, I'm gonna thump you!''

_''Okay, okay, the plan starts tomorrow night after the play. Gotcha.''_

And just like that....Ben got an idea that was all Winchester troublemaker gene.''Oh, and Luke? Bring your video camera.''

_''You're an evil genius.''_

''I try.''

Without another word, the teenager flipped his phone shut and sat up, grinning at his bedroom wall. Nope. No way. No way in hell was he going to let his father do this. He had destroyed his chances with Ruby one too many times and now, it was time for someone else to step in. Enough was enough. It was time for action.

It was time for Ben Winchester to take matters of the heart - specifically his father's and Ruby's - into his own hands.

Plus...

...Breaking up a wedding?

Come on, how fun is that?

**end prologue**

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**AN: And there we have it. The prologue. The start of everything. So, once again, I'm not sure how soon I'll update, but I'll definitely work on it. Oh, and just some notes, I know Lucas and Andrea Barr didn't live in Lawrence (which is where the Winchesters have settled down) but for all purposes of this story, they do now, because I simply wasn't willing to give up that red headed little kid. He's too fun to write. Sorry if there are any spelling or grammar errors, I was way too tired to attempt to re-read this again.**

**Now, a question. So, we all know now that Ben is going to attempt to break up the wedding, and he's going to need a little help. Who do you think he should recruit? It's between Ellen, Bobby and Missouri.**

**Anyways, hope the prologue was good enough and I hope this story will be as good as 'everything and in between'.**

**Kisses, Becks**


	2. Best Intentions

_AN: O-_kay _then! Here we go! The next chapter! I'm not going to waste your time yapping, so let's just get on with it._

Disclaimer: I do not own Supernatural or any of the characters.

* * *

**Playing Matchmaker**

Written by Becks Rylynn

* * *

_Chapter One: Best Intentions_

The teenaged Winchester rushed into the diner, shaking rain off his permanently messy hair. It was a miserable day in Lawrence, Kansas and he was supposed to be at school right about now. Instead, he was here. His eyes scanned the room quickly, instantly finding the person he was looking for. She was easy enough to spot and the boy moved swiftly through the diner, sliding into the booth across from her with a bright smile. ''Hiya!''

She looked up sharply and frowned as she raised an unimpressed eyebrow. ''Aren't you supposed to be in school right about now?''

''Free period,'' he lied.

''I don't believe you,'' she leaned closer and narrowed her eyes. ''What did you do?''

''What makes you think I did something?''

''You have that look in your eyes. It's the same one your father always gets when he tells me he's getting married. Are you getting married, Ben?''

Ben laughed, possibly a little too loudly, because all the other patrons in the diner turned to look at him. ''Oh, you're so funny. _Really_. Have you ever thought of a career in stand up?''

''Benjamin Isaac Winchester.''

He sobered instantly. Oooh, she full named him. She meant business. ''I need you to help me break up Dad and Mia and get Dad and Ruby together.''

Ellen Harvelle's jaw dropped open and her hands, crossed over her chest, fell limpy to the table. She blinked and looked at him carefully, most likely trying to decipher if he was joking. This had not been what she expected when she came to Lawrence. She just came here to see Dean get married (again) and to see her boys. She had expected a lot of things. This? Not one of them. This wasn't even on the list of things she expected. When she realized he was not joking and was in fact very serious, she grabbed her coffee cup and downed it in one sip. ''I'm going to need something a little stronger than coffee.''

''Aw, come on, Ellen,'' Ben leaned back in the seat, the perfect image of casual and control. Something he had learned from Ruby. ''How long have you known my father?''

She hesitated and fidgeted in her seat before answering, ''Awhile.''

''And how long have you know he and Ruby are meant for each other?''

As expected, she let out a loud sigh and closed her eyes briefly. ''Well, I wouldn't go _that_ far....''

''Ellen, have you met Mia?''

''Not face to face, no. But I hear she's a nice girl. Maybe someone you could really like.''

Ben ran a hand through his wet hair and tried not to sigh. This was going to be harder then he thought. ''She_ is _nice, Ellen, she's really, really nice.'' He told himself it wasn't a lie. It was just kind of a half-truth. ''She's also kind of an airhead and looks like she's a teenager. Oh! She also snorts when she laughs, it's really very annoying.''

''And you think because she_ snorts _when she laughs that you should break up her one chance for happiness?''

''Her one chance for happiness?'' Really, Ellen, there was no need to be so dramatic. Ben waived that off like it meant nothing. ''Oh, _please_, she gets hit on at least once a day.'' She still didn't look convinced, so Ben decided to kick it up a notch. ''Ellen,'' he sighed and used his puppy dog eyes on her. ''She's nice. But she's just _not Ruby_.''

Ellen raised an eyebrow. ''Boy, I'm a mother, I know all the tricks. Your puppy dog eyes are totally lost on me.''

''Really?'' Ben frowned. ''Well, that's discouraging.'' He shrugged and smiled innocently. ''Okay fine, just wait until you see her at the party tonight. Then I'll see if you want to help me.'' He winked at her and stood, preparing to do that mysterious disappearing trick. But then he remembered something and turned back to her with a small, sheepish smile. ''Oh yeah, can you give me a ride to school?''

--

It was 7:00.

Shit.

He was late.

Shaking rain off his clothes and hair, Dean Winchester rushed down the hall of Lawrence Junior High towards the auditorium. He had no doubt that Ben wouldn't give a flying rat's ass if he didn't show up at all. Ben had never wanted to do this play anyways. Ruby on the other hand.....Let's just say when she went into mother hen mode, she _really_ went into mother hen mode. Utterly terrifying. And since Dean had promised he would be there, promised he would be on time, promised he wouldn't embarass her by arriving late, he was about 99% sure when he walked in there she was going to murder him in cold blood in front of everyone. Lovely.

Trying to be as quiet as he could, Dean pushed open the heavy doors and entered the auditorium just as the lights went down and the curtains on stage rose. Quickly, quietly and carefully, he dropped into the empty seat next to Ruby and threw an apologetic smile at the other parents in the audience. Yeah, they were _not_ who he should have been worried about.

Beside him, Ruby slowly turned her head to glare and he could see even in the darkened room that her eyes were as black as oil puddles. ''You're._ Late_.'' She hissed through her teeth.

''Uh...yeah,'' he cleared his throat and shrugged helplessly, trying to pretend he wasn't totally afraid of her. ''Sorry about that, Mia made me look at her bridesmaid dresses again. I had a dream about pink taffeta last night, you know. I think I'm going insane.''

''You only _think_?''

''Sshh.'' A woman behind them leaned forwards and poked them.

Ruby jumped and turned around, letting the woman see her black as tar eyes. ''Watch the bony fingers lady.'' When the woman retreated, her face white as a sheet, looking like she had just caught a glimpse of the creature from the Black Lagoon, Ruby smiled innocently and turned back to Dean, acting like she hadn't just shown that woman her demon. ''You've been insane ever since I met you.''

''Oh, sweetheart, you always know how to cheer me up.'' He grinned, goofily and reached out, patting her cheek.

She growled and jerked away from his touch. ''Where_ is _barbie girl anyways? Oh, let me guess. Brushing her hair.''

''She had plans.''

''Plans more important then her future step-son's debut into the acting world?''

He shot her a look and leaned closer to her, but kept his eyes firmly on the stage ahead of him when children started to file out on stage. ''Can you be a little nicer to her please? She already thinks you don't like her.''

''Smart girl,'' she retorted through an obviously fake smile directed at the stage as she crossed her arms.

''Hey.'' In front of them, Sam turned around in his seat and glared at them. Sometimes he was sure Dean and Ruby were the ones that belonged in junior high and not Ben. ''They are _this _close to kicking us out of here. Will you two kindly shut the hell up? You can flirt later.''

Ruby uncrossed her arms and rolled her eyes dramatically, sticking her tongue out at the younger Winchester. Dean coughed to cover a laugh. Someone behind them cleared their throat loudly and a hiss of ''Be quiet'' echoed through the audience of parents. Oh, yeah, in Lawrence, even junior high plays got ugly. Since Dean and Ruby were who they were and they both had tempers, both sets of eyes darted around, ready to snap at whoever had dared shush them. But when Ben showed up on stage, looking bored out of his mind and extremely annoyed with the costume they'd put him in, both hunter and demon perked up, slow smiles dancing across their lips. And they shut up, forgetting about everything. Mia, taffeta, the rude parent, his tardiness, Sam's warning.

Because that was their boy up there.

--

Ben Winchester could handle a lot of things.

Or at least he liked to think he could.

Demons, monsters, vampires, werewolves, ghosts. He took them all in stride. He could salt and burn bones, he could shoot a gun, load a gun and clean a gun. He had the potential to be a great hunter someday. But the one thing he could not - _would_ not - handle was women pinching his face and calling him 'sweetcheeks'. That was more terrifying than anything in the world. After the play, the Winchester family went back to the house, for an after play party.

Yeah,_ right_, that was most definitely not what it was. No one here cared about the play. Including Ben himself. No, this whole thing was just a clever way for Mia to get the engagement party she always wanted.

Somehow, Mia Karpentar could always make everything about her.

By the time Ben had been pinched on the cheeks six times, he was freaking ready to blow. When he saw another vulture making her way towards him (and with press on nails no less) all he wanted to run away and escape somewhere, but he couldn't seem to move. His feet were rooted to the ground in terror. Luckily, a hand reached out and grabbed him, pulling him into the kitchen seconds before the vulture descended. ''Luke,'' Ben let out a breath at the familiar face. ''Oh, thank the lord above.'' He ran a hand over his face and sighed. That's when he noticed what Lucas was wearing. ''Oh...My..._God_....Luke, are you...are you still in costume?''

''Uh-huh.'' Lucas nodded, clearly very pleased with himself, despite the fact that it must have been boiling in the costume he was wearing.

''And do I want to know why?''

The redheaded boy began to look a little unsure of himself. ''You said you needed a distraction.''

Holy.

Crap.

Ben pursed his lips and tried not to shake his head. Sometimes, he really wondered if there was something wrong with Lucas. ''I meant something like spilling the punch, not dressing up as a giant dog boy!''

''It's _Snoopy_!''

No, _seriously_, how did he ever become friends with this kid? Rolling his eyes, Ben pushed open the door and peered into the living room anxiously. He was about to start phase one of Operation: Get Dad and Ruby Together. He wrinkled his nose. He was going to have to do something about the name later. ''Whatever, dude, did you get the camera?''

''Yeah. Why do you need the camera anyways?''

''Because I'm a peeping Tom. Why do you think?'' Ben snatched the camera from Lucas's hands and looked at it carefully. Oh yeah, it would work. This was such an awesome plan. Sometimes, he was absolutely blown away by how brilliant he was. Huh. Well, he definitely got his father's vainness now didn't he?

Lucas held his hands - more like paws - up and took a step away. ''Well, sor-_ry._ Anyways, did you get help?''

''Uh...'' Ben heard a snort from the living room and looked out at Ellen, who looked like she was about to burst out laughing. ''I think so.''

Lucas peered over Ben's shoulder and smirked. ''Hey, do we have to do this now? It looks like Ruby and Mia are about to have a throwdown. Can you imagine those two hotties wrestling in cake?''

Ben's satisfied smirk faded away, replaced by a grimace and he pushed Lucas back into the kitchen with a roll of his eyes. ''That was a disgusting mental image.''

''Oh, come on, you have to admit it, Benny. Ruby and Mia are hot.''

''Mia's...._Mia_. And Ruby...she's like...she's like my Mom, that's just...._wrong_ on _so many _levels.'' Ben threw Lucas a look and stuffed the camera into his jacket pocket, wanting nothing more then to get the image of Ruby and Mia wrestling in cake out of his mind. ''Okay, you stay here and wait for me to signal you. When I do, you start your....'' Ben cleared his throat, and pushed away a laugh. ''..._Distraction_. No one can know Dad and Ruby are missing.'' Ben exited the kitchen, ignoring Lucas's yelp of ''I won't let you down, man!''

Ben quickly darted down the hall and away from the sounds of the party, slipping into his father's bedroom. He wondered for a moment if hiding a camera was really the smartest thing to do. After all, if they did something, he didn't really want to see it. He shuddered at the thought. When he was just about finished, a voice spoke up startling him so much he nearly fell off the chair he was standing on.

''I think you were right about Mia.''

He regained his composure quickly and turned towards Ellen, with a smooth and charming smile. ''Of course I was.''

''She's a nice girl, she's just....I don't think she's right for your father.'' She paused and allowed the words to sink in as she tilted her head to the side. ''Not that _any_ of the women he's married were right for him.''

''Yeah, Dad's got really great taste.''

''You know,'' she drawled slowly, ''your father broke my daughter's heart.''

Ben's protective instinct shot up and he jumped down from the chair, crossing his arms. Hey, everybody makes mistakes. Plus, Jo had known what she was going into when she married Dean. Dean had made it clear he felt nothing for her. It was purely friendship, just business. ''Jo should have known that - ''

''Relax, kid. I'm just saying, I should be angry at your father.''

''But you're not?''

Ellen shrugged. ''What can I say? He's family, and family deserves to be happy. Now...please tell me you weren't hiding a camera.''

''I wasn't hiding a camera.''

''You're lying.''

''You told me to say it!''

Ellen shook her head and slid her gaze to the ceiling. _Lord, give me strength._ But she didn't mention the camera again. There were some things she was better off left in the dark about. ''I'm not even going to ask. I'll help you even though I know I'm going to regret this very much. What do you want me to do?''

''Well,'' Ben bit down on his lip and looked around the room. There were a lot of things she could do, but he wanted to start off nice and slow - _ha, that's what he said! Damn it, Lucas!_ Stupid Lucas and his dirty thoughts. Ben shook his head to shake the thoughts from his head and glanced at Ellen. There was no reason to scare her off. At least not this early on. So he settled for something simple. ''You can get Dad and Ruby in here.''

''Mia will eventually notice that her fiance's missing. She's showing him off.''

Ben knew he should have been worried about that. But then he thought of Lucas and knew once 'Snoopy' started his distraction, Mia wouldn't care about anything except getting rid of the boy who was going to ruin her engagement party. ''Lucas is going to take care of Mia.''

''I really don't like the sound of that, but alright,'' she threw the boy a look. ''You owe me, kid.''

Five minutes later, Ben was lying in wait for his unaware victims. Insert evil laughter here. Okay, yeah, he was starting to think he was having way too much fun with this evil plan of his. Where were they? Lucas wasn't going to stay in that kitchen forever. When voices floated down the hall, Ben turned the corner and pressed himself up against the wall.

''All I'm saying Dean, is that this party was supposed to be about Ben, not your engagement.''

''What was I supposed to do, Ruby? Say no?''

''Well, I guess we know who wears the pants in this relationship.''

''Uncalled for!''

For a fleeting moment, Ben wondered what Ellen had to say to get them there, but once they stepped into the bedroom, he decided he didn't care and jumped out of his hiding spot, sliding a chair under the handle. Just like when he was eleven. He could only hope this outcome was better. That one night all those years ago had changed a hell of a lot. For starters, he hadn't seen Ruby for five months. He had to beg - yes, _beg_ - his father to go and bring her home after those five hellish months because none of the Winchesters seemed to work without her. And here he was, years later and he still didn't know the full story of what happened. All he knew was that _something_ happened. Something that shouldn't have happened.

He was halfway down the hall before they noticed they were locked in. Oh, were they screaming? Nah. Must have been his imagination. At least that was his story. Ben smiled proudly and gave Ellen two thumbs up, pushing into the kitchen. ''Okay, dog boy, you're up.''

_''Snoopy!''_

''Just get your tail out there and distract malibu Mia.''

Lucas let out a bark of laughter - get it? Bark of laughter - when he heard the nickname and immediately slapped a paw over his mouth, shaking his head. ''That wasn't nice.''

''Go!''

''Hey, do you think once she's single, Mia will go out with me?''

''Not if you were the last dude on earth.'' Ben said truthfully. Lucas' face fell. The Winchester boy sighed. Ah crap, the sympathy routine. Now, he was going to have to cheer his dawg up. ''Sorry, dude. Now, come on, get into character. Would Snoopy let rejection get him down?''

''Uh....no?''

''I can't hear you. Come on, Snoopy! Bark!''

''Woof.''

''What was that? That was pathetic.''

''Woof!''

''Louder!''

_''Woof!'' _In a wave of inspiration, Lucas burst into a round of the Snoopy dance, looking...well..looking totally and completely insane.

''Okay, save it for the show, buddy.''

Nothing.

More dancing.

''Luke, seriously, get out there.''

Nope.

Still dancing.

Ben sighed. ''You really tire me, Luke. And then Ben roughly shoved the still dancing mockery of a dog out the kitchen door. By the sound of the shriek from either Mia or one of her barbie friends, he guessed they had seen them. Even though his eyes glinted with amusement and his lips twitched, a smile threatening to stretch across his face, he shook his head and pretended to be exasperated. ''Why am I friends with him?''

Ahh, a question for infinity.....

--

Over the years, Dean and Ruby's relationship had changed from hatred, to tentative friendship, to best friends, to can't-live-without-you. One thing had remained the same through all their phases. They _looooved_ to bicker. About anything really. They couldn't go five seconds without bickering. Maybe that was why Ben's life was so intertesting. So, with them stuck in a room together and away from this party, Ben's life was suddenly very boring.

He was officially bored out of his gord.

Even Lucas had stopped his little show at the insistance of his embarassed mother.

But you know what the really sad thing was? No one even seemed to _notice_ Dean and Ruby were missing. Not even Sam. He and his heavily pregnant wife Sarah were in their own little world. Sickening, by the way. Bobby and Ellen (who had both made the journey to Lawrence for Dean's wedding after a _lot_ of begging on Dean's part) were chatting with Missouri Mosely and Mia and her friends had drank enough punch it looked like they were ready to table dance. With a small smirk, Ben wondered who had spiked the punch. Dean or Sam. He was putting his money on Dean.

''Dude.'' A paw landed on his shoulder and Ben kept his lips pressed firmly together to keep a comment from escaping his lips. ''This party's dead.'' He turned towards his friend just in time to see Lucas lift a punch glass to his lips. Before he could think of a better solution, Ben had reached out and knocked the glass of punch out of his friend's hand, red liquid splattering all over the floor.

Lucas frowned, looked at the punch and then at Ben. He did this several more times and then shook his head. ''Uncool, man, _uncool._''

''The punch is spiked you doorknob.''

_''Duh.''_ His best friend threw him a lopsided smile. ''Who do you think spiked it?''

Ben's jaw dropped. ''You?''

''Swiped some vodka from my Mom's liquor cabinet.''

''You are such an idiot.''

''When was the last time you checked on your parents?''

Ben shrugged lazily and sent a glance down the hall. He didn't even notice the way Lucas had said 'your parents'. He was used to it by now, all the kids at school thought of Ruby as his mother. ''Few minutes ago. They're not screaming for help, or at each other, which is a good sign...'' Ben pondered that for a second. ''...I think.''

''Do you wanna know what I think, Benny?''

''Not particularly, but I'm sure you're going to tell me anyways.''

''I'll bet you they're doing it.''

Ben snorted and jammed his hands into his pockets. ''Yeah, _right_.''

''You locked them in a motel room once, right?''

''Yeah, so?''

''From the way you tell the story, I'd say they either had some kind of dramatic soap opera conversation, or they had sex. Ooooohhh! Or maybe they had dramatic soap opera sex.''

Ben's mouth dropped open and he stood there, eyes wide, mouth opening and closing like a fish for several moments before he finally snapped out of it and arched an eyebrow. ''How much of the punch did you have?''

''Not much. Just three glasses.''

Ben glanced around the room, searching for Lucas's mother, but Andrea Barr was nowhere to be seen. He grabbed his friend's paw and dragged him into the kitchen, digging around in the fridge until he found a bottle of water, tossing it at his friend. ''If your Mom finds out you got drunk here she'll kill my Dad because inevitably, she'll think_ he _spiked the punch.'' The redheaded boy somehow managed to catch the bottle between his paws, but struggled to twist the cap off. ''So you need to sober up, you booze hound.'' Ben grabbed the bottle and twisted the cap off.

''Booze hound.'' Lucas snorted. ''That's a good one.''

''It was, wasn't it.''

The two thirteen year olds were silent for a few moments, one of them drunk, the other thinking about how to get two people who were meant to be together to stop fighting their fate. And then a scream echoed from the living room. Ben started towards the door, thinking maybe there was a demon, or Mia had realized her fiance was gone, but before he can reach the door, it swung open and Sam stood there, eyes wild and panicked. It was so amusing, Ben almost laughed. ''Uh, hey, uncle Sam, what's..what's goin' on?''

''We need to go.''

''Why? What happened?''

''Sarah's water broke.''

Ben heaved a sigh.

Oh boy.

Well, he was glad this night was all about him.

--

Ben got all the way to the hospital with a strangely calm Sarah and a panicking Sam, and was sitting in the waiting room when he realized what he had done. ''Holy shit!'' Everyone in the waiting room looked at him. Even people he didn't know. He slapped a hand over his mouth and smiled sheepishly. ''Uh..._nothing_, I just...um...hey, Ellen, can I talk to you for a second?'' He grabbed her arm and dragged her down the hall.

''What is your damage, kid?''

''I...kind of forgot about Dad and Ruby.''

Ellen's eyed widened comically and then she snapped her fingers. ''I _knew_ there was people missing. Benjamin Winchester, are you telling me they're still locked in that room?''

Ben winced. Well, geez, she didn't have to sound so angry. ''Sort of.''

Ellen took a deep breath and didn't yell. Instead, she ran a hand through her hair and sighed. ''This plan of yours, Ben....it'd better work.''

''I whole heartedly agree.''

''Just get your coat, boy. We're going to free the prisoners.''

--

They were going to kill him. They were both going to murder him in cold blood. Not like he'd blame them. He _did _lock them in a room together for three hours. He would be a little angry too.

But you have to understand why he was doing this. Ben loved his father. Ben loved Ruby. Ruby and Dean loved each other. All he wanted was for them to be happy. And if it took every ounce of brilliance in him to make them happy, to make them realize they needed each other like they needed air, then he was willing to do whatever it took. He had waited five years for them to do something, for them to give in, yet they remained frozen in their cowardice like two people stuck in wet cement that was quickly drying. And if they kept going on this way, their friendship wouldn't survive and Ben would lose one of them.

And Ben Winchester hated losing.

So, buckle up kiddies, 'cause there was_ nothing _Ben wouldn't do to stop this wedding and get those two together.

As soon as he stepped foot in the house, he rushed down the hall and opened the door, closing his eyes and bracing himself for the impact of a hit, or loud screams. All he got was silence. He opened his eyes slowly and as soon as he saw them, his eyebrows shot into his hairline.

Huh.

Interesting.

**end chapter one**

* * *

**AN: So....yeah, I decided to go with Ellen. Mainly because I loved Ellen Harvelle so much. She was like a mother to those boys and it was such a shame that we didn't see her in season three (like we were **_**supposed**_** to) so I decided to write her into this story. There are some things I need to address. First of all, no, Ellen and Bobby do not live in Lawrence. They came out for the wedding. And yeah, I know this first idea wasn't very original considering he's done it before, but I needed his ideas to start out kind of childish and eventually grow more desperate as the time passes. **

**And I do feel the need to say I'm sorry if this chapter feels rushed, but to be honest, it kind of was. Don't worry, the other chapters should be better and there will be a lot more drama rearing it's ugly little head.**

**Now, this story has been so incredibly hard to write (the reason why it took so long for this story to be posted) and updates aren't going to come very quick. I plan to post a chapter each week. If anyone has any ideas for this story, I'll be glad to listen and I just wanted to say thank you to everyone who's reading this story and willing to read, review, favorite, etc and stick it out with me. This story will get finished. I promise and I hate to break promises.**

**Next chapter up sometime next week. Thursday at the latest.**

**Kisses, Becks**


	3. Fake It Till You Make It

_AN: Okay! Hi there, I am so sorry for the long wait. I was supposed to post this chapter the day before yesterday but it completely slipped my mind. Anyways, here we go again; another chapter, another author's note. I'm actually kinda in love with this chapter. I thought it was funny. So, I won't waste your time talking about it and I'll actually let you read it._

Disclaimer: I do not own Supernatural or any of the characters.

* * *

**Playing Matchmaker**

Written by Becks Rylynn

* * *

_Chapter Two: Fake It Till You Make It_

A small smile crossed Ben's features as he peered into the room. They were asleep. Entangled in each other, every part of their bodies touching, but they were _asleep_. Totally innocent. Quietly, the boy retrieved the camera and shut the door. He probably should have woken them, probably should have told them about Sarah being in labor and all, but....they just looked so...sweet. In all honesty, Ben hadn't seen them that peaceful in a long time. The relationship between Dean and Ruby seemed to crumble a little bit more each time he got married to someone who wasn't her.

Cursing his screwed up life, Ben trudged back to the living room, camera in hand. He could see Ellen was nervous, pacing back and forth and muttering something, probably wishing she had never agreed to help. He wasn't sure he blamed her. There was a guilty feeling already starting in his chest. Frowning, he shook his head and pushed away the possible guilt. No. This was the right thing to do, this was what had to be done. He knew that. If people got caught in the crossfire that was their own fault. Not his.

He really was a lot like his father, wasn't he?

When the older woman saw the teenager move slowly into the room, she stopped in her tracks and turned to face him, her eyes wide and panicked, like she was expecting Dean and Ruby to come bursting into the room screaming. ''What were they doing?''

''Sleeping together.''

Out of all of the things Ben could have said, she was not expecting that. Why, oh why had she let the youngest Winchester talk her into this? Yes, of course she wanted to see Dean happy, yes, of course she realized Ruby was obviously head over heels for the man, but....she probably should have thought about the part where they were both very physical and...for god's sake this was a family show people! Ben was only thirteen, he didn't need to see his father and Ruby rolling around under the sheets. She took a moment to try and collect herself and come up with something to say. All she managed was, ''Please tell me they were wearing clothes.''

Ben felt his lips twitch, but didn't smile as he sat down on the couch. ''Actually _sleeping_ together, Ellen. Man, you sure have a dirty mind.''

She visibly relaxed and sat down next to him on the couch. ''Oh, thank god.'' There was a short silence between them and then Ellen noticed the look on Ben's face and a frown marred her face. ''What's up, kid?''

''Hmm?'' Ben looked up briefly, but focused his gaze downwards once again, fiddling with the camera in his hands. ''Oh, nothin'. Just thinking.'' He could see out of the corner of his eye that Ellen looked like she was going to say something else, but he cut her off, standing and shaking his head. ''I should probably go wake them up so we can get back to the hospital. I know Dad would want to be there. This is his niece or nephew's birth.'' When he smiled, it was obviously fake.

Ellen could see right through him. ''Kid, can I tell you something?''

He blinked. ''All right. But only if you stop calling me kid. I am not a kid.''

She ignored his last comment and started to talk, effortlessly pulling him down into the seat next to her. ''When my daughter first came home, with a wedding ring on her finger and you and your father trailing behind her, I thought she had lost her mind.'' She smiled wistfully at the memory. ''And then when I saw your father's face....his eyes...he looked like he was...well, he looked like he was in love. I thought maybe...just maybe, my daughter wasn't so crazy after all.''

Ben took a breath. ''And then Ruby walked into the bar and you realized just who he was falling for?''

''Yeah.'' She smiled a smile that only a mother could have and Ben felt a pang in his heart, because in his entire life, only two people had smiled at him like that. His own mother and....and Ruby. ''Ben, what I'm trying to say is I think...I think you're doing the right thing. Your methods may be a little...unusual and you probably could have picked a better time to do it, but...those two stubborn asses need to get their butts in gear, or it's going to be too late.''

''I don't want it to be too late for them,'' he admitted quietly, voice low like he was ashamed of the words. ''They deserve happiness. They've both done so much for me, they've both tried to give me everything and now...I want to give them something. I want to give them love.''

She blinked and had to work very hard to keep her jaw in place. Why couldn't Jo have been a little more like this kid when she was his age? Man, Ellen would have loved to have met Ben's mother. She gave this boy a great start. ''You're not like other boys your age, Benjamin. I hope you know that.''

He laughed. ''People keep telling me that.'' There was another pause and Ben glanced down the hallway, sighing. They were going to kill him. Unless....

And the evil genius was back in place.

''Ellen,'' he turned to face her and she was slightly hesitant to look him directly in the eye, because he had that look in his eyes. He was getting a plan. ''Can I ask you something?''

The Harvelle woman sighed and rolled her eyes. ''What?''

''Can you act?''

--

It had been a long night.

Who knew being locked in a room together could be so tiring? Maybe because their bodies were tired from fighting the urge to close whatever distance currently resided between them. It really sucked being in love with someone you could never be with. So...eventually after hours of screaming and making up and pounding on the door trying to get free, they had collapsed on the bed and fallen asleep, officially giving up trying to get free. All their attempts were half hearted anyways. Neither one would admit it, but this was better than the ''rockin' party'' that was going on outside the bedroom.

Sleep was peaceful, two bodies melting together like pieces of a puzzle. Until.....

''_There_ you two are!''

A pillow collided with Dean's face, tearing him from slumber as he jerked awake. The blonde with her head on his chest yelped and rolled over, falling off the bed and landing with a loud thud on the floor. ''Ouch! Goddamn it, Dean!''

He blinked and opened his eyes, throwing the pillow off and glaring at the woman standing over him, hands on hips. ''Ellen? What the..What the fuck was that? You know there are better ways to wake someone.''

''Well,'' she smiled sweetly and tilted her head to the side, ''I thought about throwing water on your face, but that would have been rude.''

''Oh,_ that _would have been rude?''

''And watch your language boy,'' Ellen continued as if there had been no intteruption. ''I am your elder. Have a little respect.''

On the floor, Ruby's eyes narrowed into dangerous slits as she rose to her feet, eyes whirling around the room as if she were searching for someone. ''Where is he? Where is the little brat? I'm gonna ground him until he's thirty!''

Dean rolled his eyes and stood, smoothing down his wrinkled clothes. ''You don't have that power.''

''Do not test me right now, Winchester.''

''You didn't seem nearly as bitchy when you were asleep...with your hands all over me.''

''Me?!'' Her eyes widened and she took a dangerous step closer to him, shoving a finger into his chest hard enough for him to groan slightly. ''What about you? You...You...pervert! What about where your hands were?!''

''Oh, get over yourself, blondie. Not every guy wants to - ''

''I'm not talking about every guy, Dean. Just you and your grabby hands.''

''Yeah, well - ''

''Oh, thank god!'' The door crashed open and Ben rushed into the room, breathing heavily, relief clouding his eyes as he surveyed the room. In an instant he had crossed the room and grabbed onto both Dean and Ruby in a bone crushing hug. Jesus. Since when had this kid been so strong? Just as quick as the hug had begun, it ended and the teenager pulled away, eyes flashing. ''Don't _do_ that!'' For added effect, he reached out and punched them both on the shoulder. ''I thought you had been kidnapped or something! You know the Winchester Luck frightens me!''

What were they supposed to say to that? They had been sure Ben had done this. It had to be him. He had done it before. But, now he was all sincere and crap and he...actually seemed worried. If it wasn't him, who the hell was it?

''Whoa, whoa, whoa, hold on a second,'' Dean shook his head and held his hand up. ''You didn't do this?''

Ben frowned, ''Do what?''

''What do you think?!'' Ruby screeched, throwing her arms out. ''Someone locked us in this horrible room! It was awful and the walls kept closing in and...and who would do this? Honestly, who does this kind of juvenile crap?!''

''Okay, Rubes, calm down you're going supersonic again,'' Dean commented, wincing.

''Yeah,'' Ben added with a goofy grin, ''only dogs can hear you right now.''

''Benjamin.'' Dean's voice suddenly sounded serious as he turned his gaze back to his son, hoping he could use the 'Daddy Voice' to make Ben fess up. He reached out and grabbed the boy's shirt for added dramatic effect. ''The truth please. Did you do this?''

Uh-oh.

Daddy Dean Mode.

Ben was screwed now.

No, seriously, Dean was doing that eye thing that could make anyone feel about _this_ big.

''We don't have time for this!'' A voice shrieked suddenly, breaking eye contact between father and son. Neither Dean nor Ruby saw Ben let out a nervous breath and unclench his fists. Ellen shook her head and looked at the three people in front of her. ''You can do your soap opera re-enactment later. Right now we have to get to the hospital.'' She glared and crooked a finger at Dean. ''You are about to become an uncle and your son forced me to stay behind because you two decided to do your selfish little disappearing act.''

''But - ''

''Ah!'' She held up a hand. ''I don't want to hear it! Now, move!''

''Ellen,'' Dean smirked, lazily and crossed his arms. ''I'm a father, the evil eye doesn't work on me.''

''Mmmhmm, and I'm a demon. Takes more then that to scare me.''

Looking incredibly calm, Ellen simply folded her arms and stared at them until they broke. Mumbling something under their breaths, they both pushed past her and out the door. Never underestimate the evil eye. It could break anyone. As soon as they were gone, Ben grinned and pumped a fist in the air.

''Ha! Damn, I'm good.''

Ellen shook her head. Winchesters. So vain. ''It's terrifying how good a liar you are.'' She thought about that for a moment and then nodded. ''You've got the Winchester blood.''

''Yeah, baby! Up top!'' Still jazzed from the high of pulling that stunt off, Ben held up a hand for a high five, forgetting for a moment who he was talking to. When she turned the Harvelle stare on him, his smile vanished and he lowered his hand slowly. ''Or not.''

--

_''SAM WINCHESTER! YOU ARE NEVER TOUCHING ME AGAIN!''_

''Huh,'' Ben casually lifted his eyes from the outdated magazine he was idly flipping through and turned his gaze down the hall of the maternity wing. ''Who knew timid little Sarah Blake had such loud lungs.''

''Childbirth is an extrordinarily painful thing and you should have more sympathy. You should aslo be glad it's not Sam screaming. If it was me in there, his hand would _so _be broken by now.''

Blinking, Ben looked up again and frowned, before nodding in realization. ''Ooooh, I get it. Sometimes, I forget you've done...'' He shot a look down the hall and grimaced slightly. ''....That.'' It was moments like these when he realized he was lucky to be a man. He fully expected a response. Got nothing. Frown deepening, he turned his gaze to the blonde beside him to find her eyes were focused intently at something over his shoulder. ''You didn't hear a word I just said, did you?''

''I'm fine, Ben.''

''And thank you for proving my point.'' He smirked lightly and looked back down at the magazing, flipping a page and trying to focus on the words. Her stare was incredibly distracting however and soon, he had to bite back a groan and lifted his eyes, turning to face whatever she was starting at. Oh. Right. Of course. What else would she be staring at?

His father and Mia were seated on the small couch (a little too close together for Ben's comfort) locked in a private conversation. To any passerby, it would look sweet and intimate, like they were discussing love or something else profound like that. And maybe that was why there was just the slight hint of pain in Ruby's blue eyes. Ben didn't see that. He could read his father like no one else in the world. He saw things not even Sam or Ruby saw. He saw the slightly glassy look in emerald eyes, he saw the way his father's jaw was set, he could see the way he kept clenching and unclenching his fists. And he would have to be a fool not to see the barely there grimace that flickered on Dean's features when Mia laughed. Ahhh, wedding plans. Did it everytime.

Choking down a smirk, Ben lowered his gaze to the magazine once again and worked very hard to be interested in the tabloid article from years before.

Ruby saw nothing of the silent study, her eyes were too focused on Dean and that brunette bimbo. No matter how hard she tried, she could not understand what he saw in that girl. As if sensing her eyes on him, as if hearing her thoughts, Dean's posture stiffened and glassy emerald eyes cleared as he turned around to face her, green on blue. She had the strongest urge to look away, but for some reason she found she couldn't. He grinned, a grin she was sure bimbo barbie had never seen and she couldn't help but grin back. When his eyes turned pleading and he mouthed ''Kill me now,'' she pretended not to notice and pointedly looked away from him, grin forming into a smirk as she looked down at her hands to hide the heat that crept up in her cheeks. When she heard him laugh, she bit her lip to keep from laughing.

Beside her, Ben shook his head and didn't even bother to look up. It was moments like these that made him wonder just why Dean and Ruby hadn't seen It yet. The undiscovered and unconditional _something _that was firmly in place between them. He was going to ponder this more, really he was.

But then Sam stumbled out into the waiting room, gasping for breath, looking a little pale and when he leaned over and braced himself against his knees, Ben decided to focus his energy on the amusing sight before him. A number of people made a move to help Sam, but it was Dean and Ruby who had crossed the room in record speed, holding him up.

''Jesus, Sammy, what's with you?''

Sam shook his head and looked at his brother with a wide eyed look. ''I've seen things, Dean. Bad, _bad_ things.''

And _this_ was the man who had once been expected to bring about the end of the world?

Geez.

''Oh, God,'' Ruby rolled her eyes and shared a look with Dean. ''Your brother is such a wuss. Sam, this is a very natural part of life.''

He shook he head again. ''That wasn't natural! How do you women do that?!'' She glared and let go of him, causing him to stumble a step. He would haven fallen on his face if it hadn't been for Dean's grip on him.

''Sam,'' Dean spoke slowly, sounding like he was laughing even though he wasn't. ''You've faced nightmarish creatures from the depths of hell, you've seen me with my insides on my outsides and...you can't take this?''

''Hey!'' Sam stood up straight and glared. ''You. Weren't. There!''

''I've seen childbirth before. I saw a video of Lisa giving birth to Ben. It was...'' Dean cleared his throat and shifted on his feet, trying to sound convincing. ''It was...very beautiful.''

''Real convincing.''

''Well, at least I didn't have a panic attack,'' the older brother snapped defensively. ''Although, I almost did.'' He grinned widely and turned to Ben, nodding his head up and down matter of factly. ''You had a very large head.''

The teenager's mouth formed an 'o' and he nearly choked on his own tongue. Okay...um..._ew_. That was not information he ever needed to know. Raise your hand if disturbed.

Ruby slid her eyes to the boy and worked hard to keep a straight face. ''There's something you didn't know about yourself, huh, Benny?''

''I hate you all.''

''Okay!'' It was Bobby who finally stepped up and broke apart the very disturbing argument that was about to break out between the Winchester brothers. ''First of all, let's everyone forget _that_ particular image. And second of all,'' his gaze turned to Sam, ''boy or girl?''

''He...she...it...'' Sam blinked. ''...._The baby_....hasn't come out yet.'' At the disbelieving looks from his family, Sam held his hands up in surrender and took a step back. ''What? I got kicked out, it's not my fault. The nurses thought I was going to pass out, so they told me to go get some air.''

''Sometimes I can't believe I'm friends with you,'' Ruby remarked, turning on her heel, blond hair whipping both Winchesters in the face as she marched back to her seat and sat down with a huff.

''Okay, time to go.'' Determined to get his brother back to his wife, Dean grabbed Sam's arm and started to drag him down the hall. If anyone knew the importance of being there when your child came into the world, it was Dean Winchester. Simply because he hadn't been. Even if he had known, even if Lisa had told him, he couldn't be sure he would have been there. He was just a stupid, selfish kid back then. Sam was _not _just a stupid, selfish kid. And there was no way in hell Dean was going to let his brother miss this.

''What? But, Dean, you don't - ''

''Don't care? You're right, I don't. This is your child being born, you moron. Get in there.'' The brothers came to a stop in front of a room and Dean waited for Sam to move. The younger man seemed frozen in place. Even his eyes were blank. Frowning, Dean waved a hand in front of Sam's face and got nothing in return. ''Yoohoo? Sammy? Anyone home?''

''Don't make me do this,'' was the only thing Sam said.

''If you don't, you'll regret it for the rest of your life.''

''_Deeaaannn....''_

There was a long, uncomfortable pause and then Dean tilted his head to the side and blinked. ''Did you just...whine? Well, would you look at that, we've gone back in time to the whining phase.''

As a child, Sam had been an incredible whiner. He whined about everything. And he was loud. Like, scary loud. When he wanted something, you couldn't even pretend to ignore his whining because he was just _so_ loud. He whined until the point where both Dean and John wanted to lock him in the trunk of the Impala to get away. If you asked Sam today if he remembered that particular part of his life, he would say no. If you asked Dean, however....

Biting back a sigh, Sam nervously shifted from foot to foot and turned towards the door. ''Alright, fine. I'm going.'' He didn't move. But he was going to. That wasn't a lie. He was going to move. Any time now. ''I'm going,'' he repeated like he believed the message would somehow get through and jumpstart his body. ''I'm movin'...I'm goin'..I'm gone.''

''You're annoying,'' Dean muttered under his breath.

''I heard that.'' Sam took a few breaths and told himself his wife needed him. ''Okay, for real this time. I'm - ah!'' He was cut off when two hands roughly shoved him forwards, sending him stumbling into the door. He reached out to steady himself, got the doorknob, the doorknob turned, the door opened and Sam fell straight into the room, landing on his face.

''Hunh,'' Dean tilted his head to the side, staring down at his brother's legs poking out the door. ''I wasn't sure that would work.''

''Jerk!''

''Bitch.'' Without another word, Dean turned and started down the hall, chucking under his breath. Halfway to the waiting room, something inside made him stop and turn. Like his body was on autopilot. Like he was totally out of control. And he found himself staring through a glass window at half a dozen infants. Instantly, like someone had pressed play on a movie he had a never seen, he saw a child in his head. With blonde hair and green eyes and the most contagious and most familiar smile. Shaking his head to clear the image away, he turned his gaze to the ceiling and sneered. ''Real funny.'' He crossed his arms and looked at the babies. ''Angels,'' he muttered. ''Sick sense of humor. Angels,'' he was speaking directly to the infants now, like they could actually hear him. ''Are strange. Remember that.''

A light on the wall behind him flickered and Dean rolled his eyes dramatically, lifting his eyes to the ceiling again. ''Sor_-ry_.''

''You know,'' a voice drawled. ''You really are just a softie at heart, aren't you?''

He jumped and turned towards the blonde, leaning casually against the wall. When he recovered from her sudden appearance, he smirked and shrugged. ''Look who's talking, _Mommy Dearest._''

She smiled and pushed herself off the wall, moving to stand next to him. Her gaze was pulled to the babies soon and her lips twitched in a half smile. ''Cute,'' she remarked off handedly.

''Very touching, Ruby.''

''Yes, I know, I have a way with words.''

He smirked and draped an arm around her shoulders casually, kissing her on the top of the head softly. ''You certainly do.'' It was innocent. Just a sign of friendship. Except, it didn't look all that innocent. If you were either of them you would know the electricity crackling was anything _but _innocent.

Of course it was at that moment that Ben decided to poke his head around the corner and watch the small display silently. Fate was funny like that. Slowly, a grin spread across Ben's face, like a raindrop running down a window. A lightbulb went off in his brain and suddenly....

....he knew _exactly_ what phase two of Operation: Get Dad and Ruby Together was going to be.

Oh yeah, and he was going to have to work on names too.

**end chapter two**

* * *

**AN: And there you have it. Chapter two. So, what do you think? Worth the wait? Oh! There was a little thing in this chapter that mentioned Ruby has been through childbirth. That's from **_**everything and in between **_**and **_**For Tonight**_**. In **_**eaib**_** she confided in Ben that she had a son when she was human (in **_**For Tonight**_**, she told Dean) and although it was mentioned that she doesn't remember a whole lot about him, I just figured - hello! Childbirth; painful. Can't forget pain like that.**

**The idea of Sam being grossed out by childbirth was just something that came to me. I thought it would be so funny and considering this is a ''romantic comedy'' I thought it was appropriate.**

**The next chapter will have some more Dean/Ruby cuteness and sometime soon I'm going to write some Ruby/Mia interaction (can you imagine how _that _will go?) Also...the next chapter will introduce an Original Character named Franny Morelli. Wait and see whose love interest she is.**

**Kisses, Becks**


	4. Teenage Wasteland

AN:_ And here we go. I actually got this chapter finished sooner then I thought I would. I thought it would be kind of boring because it's mostly a filler chapter and an introduction chapter, but it actually turned out pretty good._

Title inspiration: Obiviously the classic _The Who_ song _Baba O'Riley_. Duh.

Disclaimer: Nope. Still don't own 'em. Yet.....*laughs evilly*......

* * *

**Playing Matchmaker**

Written by Becks Rylynn

* * *

_Chapter Three: Teenage Wasteland_

_''Rose?''_

Ben slammed his locker shut and shifted his backpack, turning his piercing Winchester gaze to Lucas. The redheaded boy was leaning against his own locker, arms folded over his chest, face scrunched up in disapproval. ''Yes, Rose,'' Ben shrugged. Why was everyone so hung up on this name? It wasn't that bad. He actually kind of liked it. ''I don't get what the big deal is.''

''Well....'' Lucas worked his jaw for a moment, but appparently it was a little too long of a moment because Ben started to brush past him. Lucas pushed off the locker and rushed to catch up with his friend. ''Is your little cousin...eighty? Because that's how old she sounds.''

''What? They're calling her Rosie. That's a cutesie nickname.'' And then realization of what he had just said caught up to him and Ben almost threw up in his mouth a little. ''Oh, god, oh, god, I'm talking like her. I'm talking like Mia Karpentar.'' He shook his head. Reason #85 why he needed to stop this insanity. ''This must end.'' Glancing around the hallway, Ben pulled Lucas into an empty classroom and looked around again like he expected someone to jump out of the closet and foil his evil plan. ''I need to talk to you about phase two.''

''Oooh.'' Lucas clapped his hands together and pushed an errant strand of floppy red hair out of his face. ''Phase two!'' The excited smile faded off his face, however, as soon as he realized something and he shook his head. ''Wait. What's phase two?''

''A romantic dinner for two.''

A pause.

Another pause.

Still on pause.

And then....

...Lucas burst out laughing, doubling over and clutching his sides like he was trying to keep them together. Rolling his eyes, Ben shook his head and leaned against the teacher's desk patiently waiting for his friend to finish laughing. It wasn't _that_ funny.

''No,'' Lucas gasped out through peels of laughter, ''seriously, dude, what's phase two?''

''I _am _serious, Luke.''

The teenager formerly known as Snoopy in Lawrence Junior High's production of Charlie Brown straightened and sobered, looking at his friend like he had two heads. ''A romantic dinner for two? Do you realize how Disney Channel that sounds? Not to mention how are we going to get those two to go to a romantic dinner for two?''

Ben sighed at that and moved around the desk, making the mistake of stopping in front of the door. Now that was a problem. How was he going to get Dean and Ruby to go along with this? Even if his father wasn't pretending to be madly in love with Mia, they would never do it. They were incredibly stubborn. A real character flaw. ''I don't know....maybe I could ask Ellen?''

''Also,'' Lucas continued flawlessly, like he hadn't heard Ben's comment. ''We're...guys, Ben. How are we going to come up with a romantic setting?''

''Well....obviously we need a girl's help.''

''Oh, great.'' Lucas shook his head. Yeah, like girls just grew on trees. For the most part, Lucas couldn't even remember the last girl who had talked to him. Of course that may have had something to do with the fact that whenever he tried to talk to a girl he started stuttering and his hands got all sweaty and once when he was talking to his crush Kyla Jennings, he had thrown up. Of course, he had been seven at the time and he had just eaten an entire box of Oreo cookies, but still.... ''Where exactly are we supposed to find a girl, Benjamin?''

As if on cue, the door bust open and a girl came barreling through, smacking straight into Ben and taking them both to the ground.

Lucas' jaw dropped. _Whoa_. ''Huh,'' he tilted his head to the side and looked at the door, smiling widely. ''Okay, my turn.'' Truly expecting some hot girl was going to come sauntering through, right into his arms, he held his arms out and braced himself for impact.

Nothing.

The girl currently on top of Ben (and didn't _that _just sound wrong?) chuckled nervously and pushed raven strands out of her eyes. ''Ohmigod, I am so, so, sor - Ben?''

He groaned at the pain shooting up and down his body and looked at her carefully, recognizing her instantly. ''Franny?'' The girl had pale skin, her raven hair turning her skin a few shades whiter and she was absolutely the most clutzy girl in school. No joke. When Franny Morelli was in the room, everyone knew to look out. Ben had learned that first had when she had been his partner on a project a few weeks back and both she and the project had fallen into the fountain outside of the school. However, she was also kind and funny and....very, _very_ pretty.

She beamed and waved, smiling an overly perky smile. ''Hiya, Winchester. Has anyone ever told you make a good pillow?''

''I can honestly say, um, no. No one has ever told me I make a good pillow before.'' He groaned again and shifted. ''Uh...Franny....your knee is in a very bad place.''

''Oh!'' Her eyes widened and she grimaced in apology, immediately rolling off him and getting to her feet. ''Sorry.'' She offered him her hand, smiling sheepishly and he took it, ignoring the small spark that passed through him. Kind of felt like an electric shock. But - _no!_ Now was not the time to be worrying about his own love life, he was still young, he had plenty of time for that. His father on the other hand? Well, he _was_ in his thirties after all. Turning 30 was like the end of the world to a thirteen year old. And Dean was thirty-_three._ To a teenager that was halfway dead.

''Are you okay?'' He heard Franny ask.

''Uh....yeah, I'm fine.''

''Good,'' she smiled in relief and bent down to pick up her bag and her papers, which had fluttered all over the room. When she looked up, her eyes strayed to Lucas and she frowned. ''Um...is _he _okay?''

''Huh? What? Who? Oh!'' Remembering Lucas was in the room, Ben swallowed and turned to his best friend, instantly shaking his head in disappointment. Jesus, Lucas could be such a child sometimes. ''Luke!'' Nothing. ''Lucas, you doorknob, snap out of it.'' For emphasis, Ben leaned over and flicked Lucas on the forehead. The boy snapped out of whatever fantasy he was having and opened his eyes, slowly lowering his arms.

Nope. No girl for him. ''Aww, that's no fair.'' He turned his gaze to Ben. ''You always get the hot chicks. Damn Winchester genes.''

''Uh...am I...am I interrupting something?'' Franny asked, slinging her pink messenger bag over her shoulder and smoothing down her black sweater, somewhat self conciously. Had Franny Morelli ever been alone in a room with two boys her age? No. All the boys were afraid of her just because she was the tinsiest bit clumsy. How rude, right? Had Franny ever been alone in a room with a Winchester? Heck no. Choking down a hysteric laugh, she nervously twirled a strand of dark hair and looked in between the boys. ''What were you two doing anyways?''

They looked at each other and she was sure she saw something almost dangerous flicker in their eyes.

''Hey, uh, Franny,'' Ben smiled widely and took a step towards her. ''You're a girl right?''

She blinked and her eyes remained blank and confused. How was she supposed to answer that question exactly?

Ben shook his head and held his hands up. ''Wait, no, I-I don't mean that, I mean...'' He drew in a sharp breath and smiled, a little shakily. Girls. New one for him. Oh, his father would be so proud. ''Can we strike that comment from the record?'' She smiled and...well...it was...it was very..._pretty._ The youngest Winchester (well, not really the youngest anymore. Rosie was the youngest now. Poor kid.) cleared his throat and scratched the back of his neck awkwardly.

Franny nodded slightly and shifted her armful of books and papers, nearly dropping them. ''Consider it stricken. Continue.''

''We...We kind of need a girl's help.''

She shrugged. ''Okay...with what?''

''Breaking up his father's wedding,'' Lucas piped up, helpfully.

When Franny's face contorted in horror, Ben groaned and dropped his head into his hands. _Why_ was he friends with this kid?

''Uh...yeah, that...doesn't really sound like something I'd be into.'' She turned to go, but Ben called after her and something in his voice made her stop.

''Wait! Franny, you don't understand! It's not like that.'' He moved forwards, attempting to calm her down, cursing Lucas silently in his head. How was he even going to begin to explain this to her? Did she have like a thousand years? 'Cause going over the whole story was going to take awhile. ''My father...he doesn't belong with this woman he's going to marry. He belongs with Ruby.''

''Ruby,'' she mulled over the name for a moment and then snapped her fingers, eyes brightening in realization. ''Oh right! She's your mother, right? The one all the girls talk about?''

''She's not my...wait...all the girls talk about her?''

''Well, yeah. She's got three of the hottest guys in town wrapped around her finger.'' At the question in his eyes, she simply shrugged and offered no apology. ''My mother's a big gossip and...Lawrence has it's fair share of drama. Strange things happen here and my mother likes to talk about them.''

_Strange things happen here._

The understatement of the fucking year.

Besides being home to the two most dramatic people on earth who were real and not fictional characters in a soap opera, Lawrence was also a magnet for supernatural energy and _apparently_ there was a lot of human drama too. Huh. Ben would have to look into that later. In a town this small, he was always looking for things to entertain him.

''Maybe you've heard of her,'' Franny was saying, tongue darting out to moisten her lips. ''Lissy Morelli?''

When Ben and Lucas continued to look at her like she had just asked the toughest algebra question in history, she shook her head and made a dismissive hand gesture. ''Never mind. So....are you two really asking me for help? To break up your father's wedding? Isn't that a little...romantic-comedy-straight-to-dvd?'' Still curious about this so-called plan of destroying a wedding, Franny moved past the boys and slid into a desk, clasping her hands and looking up at them like they were teaching her something incredible.

''Yes, we're risking serious Lifetime movie moments here,'' Ben shrugged and smiled at her, eyes twinkling with laughter. He didn't know it, but he really looked like his father at the moment. ''But you do what you gotta do to make the two dumbest people on earth realize their mutual fate and - '' He clapped his hands together and the loud nose startled Lucas beside him.

Franny rose a single eyebrow. ''Smoosh together?'' She paused and shook her head, red tinging her pale cheeks. ''Boy, do I wish I had said _that_ differently.''

''Oh no,'' Lucas nodded and sat down next to her, smiling like a dope. Something told her he was not used to being in the presence of a girl. Considering the way he acted around girls that was truly shocking. Really....That was sarcasm, by the way. ''You were right.'' Lucas said happily. ''There probably will be smooshing. It is Dean and Ruby after all. They're very physical.''

''Thank you Lucas for those images that will never fade.'' Ben drew in a sharp breath and rubbed at his eyes like he was trying to rub at his brain to make those bad images go away. When they didn't, he simply shrugged and sent what he hoped was a charming grin towards Franny. ''Well, time to repress another memory.''

''Been there done that, Winchester.'' Franny checked her watch and stood, foot catching in the leg of the desk and sending her stumbling. She managed to catch herself before she hit the ground and bit back a sigh. Clumsiness was most definitely_ not _fun. As much as she would have loved to stay here and continue this very entertaining conversation, she had to get to math class. The ninth level of hell. ''So, let me get this straight. You want me to help you break up your father's impending wedding and get him to get together with your mother?''

''Ruby's not my mother.''

''Whatever. Why me?''

''Honestly? Because you were the first girl to walk through that door. Not to mention the only one who will talk to me.'' There were a lot of similiarities between Ben Winchester and his father. He got a lot of things from Dean. He did not, however, have the Casanova gene.

She thought about it for a moment and then shrugged. ''Fair enough. I have study hall fifth period, I know you do too. I see you boys throwing spit balls at the librarian. Mature, by the way. I'll talk to you about your crazy scheme then.'' She arched an eyebrow at Lucas, threw a smile towards Ben and then sauntered out the door just as the bell rang.

Lucas and Ben remained locked in place for exactly two minutes before Ben frowned and turned to Lucas. ''What the hell just happened?''

This had _so not _been in the game plan.

--

Eyes wild and panicked, Ruby burst through the door of the garage that _wasn't_ meant for customers. The sound of metal against metal rang in her ears as she rushed through the garage, completely ignoring the cat calls and greetings from the grease monkeys. She had been rudely awakened from her slumber that morning by an urgent text message from Dean telling her to ''get here now''. And when Dean Winchester sent you a text message, it was reason to panic. The man barely knew how to use a cell phone to make a call. For god's sake, Ruby was more tech smart then him. And she was a _demon._

''Well, well, well, look who it is. Winchester's girl.'' A middle aged man streaked with grease looked up from a clipboard and threw her a smirk. ''How've you been? Still not gettin' any from that boy?''

She rolled her eyes and pushed blonde hair out of her eyes. ''No time, Gil. Dean in his office?''

''Where else would he be?''

''Great, thanks.'' Barely stopping to throw the man a small grateful smile, she fell through the door of the office and immediately had to stop to breathe. ''Dean! What's wrong? Is it Ben? Is he okay?'' She paused, gasping for air. ''Where is he? You're not answering!''

Startled by her entrance, Dean looked up from his paperwork and pressed his lips together to keep from laughing. ''Wow, darlin' you look like crap.''

She scowled and smoothed down her mussed hair and wrinkled clothes self conciously. ''Don't darlin' me, Dean Winchester. What's the emergency? Why did I have to drag myself out of bed at this ungodly hour and get down here?''

Dean wrinkled his nose in confusion. ''What emergency?''

''What do you mean what emergency?'' Energy drained, Ruby collapsed in the chair across from him and reached for his coffee cup, snatching it right from his hand and ignoring the indignant grunt he gave her. Man, she really needed to work out more. She really must have been out of shape if a simple panic driven race across town wore her out. No more french fries for her.....Yeah, like she would follow through on _that one. _''You texted me and told me to get here now because you needed my help.''

''No I didn't.''

''Yes you did.''

''Nu-uh.''

''Yeah-huh.''

''Nu....Okay, this could go on for awhile. Why don't you just tell me what you're talking about and then I can tell you you're crazy and you can go home and shower because really Rubes, you look like death warmed over.''

''Go screw yourself.'' With an overdramatic flourish, she pulled out her cell phone and handed it over to him.

Looking down at the text, he wasn't sure if he should be angry or just plain sad. How on earth could she think _he_ sent _that?_ Sometimes he wondered if she really knew him as well as she thought. Why did that make him feel all empty and disappointed inside? Shaking _that_ strange thought away, Dean took a breath and leaned forwards turning the phone around so she could see the sloppy text. ''You thought_ I _sent this?''

''It's from _your_ phone, Dean.'' She took a gulp of the coffee and grimaced. ''I will never understand why you drink your coffee like this.''

''Yeah, well I will never understand your obsession with french fries. But seriously, Ruby I did not send this and I am deeply insulted you thought I did.''

''Oh, don't be such a drama king.''

''Ruby....whoever sent this misspelled_ here_.''

She let out a small huff of laughter but sobered instantly, determined to keep a straight face. ''Well, honey, why do you think I call you short bus? Let's face it, sometimes you're not the brightest Crayola in the box.''

Dean simply grinned in response and tossed the phone back at her. She shrieked and made a grab for the small piece of technology, releasing her grip on the coffee cup sending burning hot liquid spilling down her shirt. She yelped, more out of shock then pain and in her haste to grab the cup _and_ the phone, she twisted the wrong way and went falling face first to the floor.

Dean blinked and looked back down at his paperwork so she wouldn't see the amusement clouding in his eyes. ''Yeah and _I'm_ the short bus.''

''Jackass.''

''You know,'' Dean mused suddenly, lifting his eyes as she picked herself up off the floor looking down at her coffee stained shirt. ''I think you've used short bus on me before.'' He gasped dramatically and flashed her an insulted look. ''Are you recycling insults? On _me_?''

''What can I say?'' She shrugged and plucked her phone from the ground. ''You just don't inspire me like you used to.''

''You cut me deep, blondie.''

Hell bent on getting back to the matter of the text message mystery, Ruby dropped back into the chair, still scowling over her ruined shirt, and flipped open her cell phone, studying the text message critically. ''Hmmm, I guess I should have known it wasn't you when I saw the little smiley thing. You hate those.''

''With a passion.''

''Well, I don't get it!'' She declared dramatically, throwing her hands up in the air. ''If you didn't send this to me, who - '' The phone in her hand sprang to life, bursting into music as the sound of Britney Spears' _Gimme More_ filled the room, earning a short bark of laughter from Dean. Ruby did not find it as funny. ''I blame you for this,'' she hissed, ''you did something to my phone and now I'm stuck with that trainwreck's voice everytime someone calls me.'' Rolling blue eyes, she flipped the phone open and held it to her ear. ''Hello?''

_''Ruby!''_

Dean's head snapped up at the familiar voice and he watched as Ruby's jaw tightened and her hands curled into fists. ''Is that - ''

''Mia.'' The blonde demon's voice was perfectly pleasant as she spoke, even though her eyes were glinting dangerously as she looked up at Dean and mouthed, ''This is your fault.'' As if she didn't hear Mia's annoying high pitched voice enough whenever she was around the Winchester house, now the harpy had her phone number too? Oh, this could get bad. She was going to have to change her number. She was going to have to move. If she happened to lock Mia in a warehouse that demons have been known to frequent it wouldn't actually be like she killed her, would it? ''How did you get this number?''

_''Dean gave it to me.''_

Ruby blinked and tried to keep her breathing steady as she looked up to glare daggers at Dean. He was very carefully not looking at her, pretending to be entranced by whatever paperwork he was trying to complete. Yeah, right. She didn't buy that for one second. The one thing Dean hated more than anything was paperwork. Drawback to normal life. Taxes, jobs, inventory...ew. ''He did, did he?''

_''Uh-huh! He knew I didn't have very many friends here and he told me that if I ever needed some girl talk I could go to you.''_

She snorted and crossed her legs primly. ''He was probably just hoping we would get drunk and end up making out.''

''And I am not ashamed to admit that,'' Dean piped up without lifting his eyes.

_''Huh?''_

Figures. She should have known something like that would go right over that girl's head. Mia was not known for her brains. Forcing herself not to roll her eyes, Ruby brought a hand to her forehead and rubbed it to quell the dull pain that was beginning to start behind her right temple. And just from two minutes of talking to Mia. Wow. ''Never mind. What did you need Mia?''

_''We-e-ell, I was hoping you could come over and help me with the wedding preparations. I need a woman's advice. Didn't you get my text?''_

_Of course_ it was Mia who sent the text message. That explained _so_ much. Instead of making some rude remark, Ruby focused on what Mia had just said, horror beginning to seep into her veins. ''You want _me_ to help with the wedding?'' _Do you even realize who_ I _am?_

At that, Dean looked up sharply, panic coating his eyes. ''What? No. No, no, no. Absolutely not. Out of the question. No friggin' way.'' Slowly, a smirk came to rest on Ruby's lips and Dean groaned, dropping his head onto the desk. He recognized that smirk. She was getting an evil plan. ''Aw, crap.''

''You know what, Mia? That sounds...That sounds _great_. I'll be over in a few minutes.''

_''Great! And then we can talk and we've never really had a chance to talk, just you and me and I've always wanted to. You seem like such a nice person, Ruby and I think we could be really great friends. I mean, we're going to have to get along, 'cause I'm, like, going to be - ''_

Pretending she hadn't heard a word of Mia's blather, Ruby snapped her phone shut and turned her smirk to Dean. ''Well, Winchester, you wanted me to be nice to her.''

''I hate you.''

Her smirk turned into a smile and she stood moving slowly behind his desk and perching herself on his lap as she wrapped her arms around his neck. ''No, you don't.''

He sighed heavily and looked at her closely, like he was studying her blue eyes. ''No, I don't.''

''Bet you wish you did though, right?''

''At this moment? Most definitely.''

--

Homework.

Who invented it anyways? The one person Ben Winchester would like to meet is the idiot who came up with homework. Mostly so he could pound the geek into next year. And why did the teachers have to give out so much? A thirteen year old's attention span was only so long you know. Teenagers weren't really known for their long term commitments. Not to mention, Ben was his father's son. He had never liked school. He could barely stand to do the work in school. How do you think he felt about having to do even more work at home? _Also,_ how was he supposed to work an evil plan and do his math homework at the same time? Impossible.

Sitting alone at a table in the back of study hall, Ben's eyes scanned the math homework quickly, confusion evident in his Winchester eyes. He hated math. It was horrible. Oh! Another person Ben would like to meet; the dumbass who came up with math. Luckily for him, someone sat down beside him and his attention was pulled away from the math. Told you. Attention span? Remarkably short.

''Is she here yet?''

Ben blinked and looked at Lucas, corners of his mouth curving into a frown. ''Yeah, Luke, she's here. She's just hiding under the table.''

Lucas frowned and moved to look under the table. ''Why would she...oh.'' He straightened and smiled sheepishly. ''You were messin' with me.''

Instead of answering, Ben ducked his head back down to his homework as he tried not to smile. Lucas Barr could be weird and strange ninety percent of the time, he wore Ben out and made him wonder why he put up with him. But he was just so entertaining. Plus, he actually went along with Ben's schemes. And vice versa. So yeah, he was a pretty good friend.

''I still think this is a weird plan,'' Lucas spoke up. His voice was perhaps a bit too loud because the librarion rapped him over the head with a ruler as she walked past. ''Ouch!'' His eyes narrowed as he watched her retreating back. ''That was child abuse, Glenda! I'm contacting the authorities.''

''Did you just call her Glenda?''

Lucas shrugged. ''That's her name.''

Ben scrunched up his face in confusion. ''You know the librarian's first name?''

Lucas opened his mouth to say something, but snapped it shut instantly when he realized he had no idea what to say. Luck must have been on his side because he was saved from answering when Franny appeared, plopping down in the seat across from them, with a smile and a greeting of, ''Hello boys.''

A high pitched noise escaped Lucas' lips, coming from deep in his throat and both Ben and Franny turned their gazes to him. Franny frowned and leaned her elbows on the table. ''You _really_ aren't used to talking to girls, are you?''

''I threw up on Kyla Jennings when I was seven.''

''That would be a no,'' Ben chirped, smiling widely.

''Hmm,'' The girl crossed her legs primly and pulled her notebook out of her bag, absently scribbling in her notebook. ''You know, guys, I still don't understand why you're asking me for help. This is obviously a super secret mission.'' She lifted her eyes momentarily to glance at Ben and then focused her eyes on whatever she was drawing again. ''How do you know you can trust me?''

''No offense, Franny,'' Ben spoke in a drawl, ''but who would you tell? Your not exactly one of the populars. Again; no offense.''

''Eh, none taken.'' Her lips curved into a smile as she concentrated on drawing, pencil sliding across paper gracefully. ''I dislike all teenagers. Personally, I think they are all demons.''

Ben and Lucas looked at each other at that comment. Teenagers. Demons? Huh. That was...actually pretty accurate. Demons were wild and unpredictable and venonmous and mean and vindictive. Whooooaaa....they really were demons, weren't they? Ben felt his lips twitchef, but didn't smile.

''And it's Plastics, by the way.'' Franny's pencil paused and she looked up, smiling at the confusion evident in their eyes. ''The popular people. I call them The Plastics.''

''Why?''

'' 'Cause they remind me of barbies. Even the guys. They're like giant, life sized Ken Dolls.''

''Ew. That was a frightening image,'' Lucas frowned. ''Now I'm going to have nightmares about a life sized Ken Doll coming to take me.'' He paused and thought that comment over, face contorting in disgust. ''Oh! Ew! I didn't...That...That sounded better in my head.'' He shook his head and licked his lips with a grimace. ''Ew, ew, _ew_.''

Franny arched an eyebrow and turned her gaze back downwards.

''Sorry about him,'' Ben dropped his voice down to a whisper when the librarian walked by. Glancing over his shoulder at the woman's retreating back, he leaned across the table closer to her. ''He can be a little much at times.''

''You think?'' She lifted her gaze again and had to work very hard to keep from jumping back in surprise when she realized how close he was. ''So....'' She cleared her throat nervously and her pencil froze on the paper. ''Why do you need my help anyways, Ben Winchester? You seem like a pretty capable guy. What am I being used for?'' She paused at her wording, but shook it off. ''What would I do?''

''You're a girl. We need a girl's help. Phase two of Operation: Get Dad and Ruby Together needs - ''

''That's what you're calling it?'' She murmured incredulously. ''Oh, dear. You need more help then I thought.''

He frowned and took slight offense to that, crossing his arms. ''I was going to come up with a name later.''

''I'm sure.''

''Look, phase two involves a romantic dinner for two and Luke and I....we're not exactly the best people to be doing anything romantic.''

She smirked and looked back down at her drawing, pencil moving once again. ''And you think because I'm a girl, I must have romance down pat, right? For your information, I believe romance is an illusion.'' Well, who knew Franny Morelli was such a cynic. ''But,'' she looked up suddenly, her smirk widening into a full blown, eye crinkling smile. ''Lucky for you I happen to be an illusionist.''

Ben couldn't help the smile that spread across his lips effortlessly as her hazel eyes locked onto his. Before he could say anything, Lucas had jumped in between them, grinning like a mad man and completely and utterly destroying the moment. And he didn't even seem to realize it. ''Does that mean you'll help us, Fran?''

''Don't call me that.''

Lucas swallowed nervously and shifted under her unwavering glare. ''Okay then.''

''Sure,'' she shrugged and tucked her pencil away. ''I'll help you. But only because you boys so desperately need it. Plus, it's not like I've got anything better to do.'' She carefully tore the page out of her notebook and slid it across the table towards Ben. She stood and her foot caught and she promptly went down to the ground. The librarian looked up but when she saw it was just Franny she sighed and shook her head, turning her eyes back down to her crossword puzzle. Ben and Lucas leaned over the table to look at her form sprawled out on the ground. She licked her lips and rose to her feet. ''Why does that happen to me every single time?''

''Maybe you're missing a chromosone,'' Lucas suggested.

''I think that's you, Luke,'' the Winchester beside him cut in flawlessly.

''Meanie.''

Franny cracked a small smile and grabbed her bag. ''Here's the deal; you come up with the plan and I'll come over and help make it romantic and cheesy. We'll have a nice Lifetime movie moment. Call me when you need me.'' She did that smile thing again that did something strange to Ben's insides and shot them both a wink, before she turned to walk away. ''See ya, boys,'' she called over her shoulder.

''Call her? We don't have her phone number.''

Ben ignored his best friend's voice and slowly turned his gaze downwards to the sheet of loose leaf paper she had been drawing on. Imagine his surprise when he found himself looking at a drawing of himself in perfect detail. And at the bottom there was a seven digit number. Holy crap. Ben Winchester had gotten a girl's phone number. Lips twitching in a smile begging to be let free, Ben could already hear his father's voice in his head declaring, _''That's my boy!''_

His dark eyes - something he had inherited from his mother - rose and immediately sought out Franny's retreating form. As if she could sense his eyes on her, she paused at the doors to the library and turned around throwing him a brilliant smile. He couldn't help but smile back.

''Holy hot girl, batman,'' Lucas grinned his goofy grin and slapped his hand onto Ben's shoulder. ''Looks like little Benny Winchester's got himself a girlfriend.''

''Shut up.''

''Ben and Frany sitting in a tree K-I-S-S-I-N - ''

''Ssshhh!''

Lucas shrunk away at the sound of the librarian's shush and shot her a small charming smile. ''Sorry.''

Ben grinned and ducked his head to hide his blush as he studied the perfect drawing with interest.

_Looks like little Benny Winchester's got himself a girlfriend._

Hmmm....

....That was a new one.

**end chapter three**

* * *

**AN: So...what do you think? So far, I'm lovin' Franny Morelli. I figured Ben needed a love interest, even if it is just a little puppy love/first crush thing. I thought it would be funny for her to be a klutz and I have always wanted to write about someone who can draw. It's a talent I wish I had. I also thought it was best to do a few light hearted chapters (the last few have been pretty drama free) because the drama's going to come pouring in pretty quick and the humor will be kind of.....few and far between.**

**On a different note; I have officially planned out the entire story. I know the beginning, middle and end, I just have to write and post it. And I think it's going to be pretty good. Once again, I just wanted to say that the chapters will be coming once a week (hopefully) so it gives me plenty of time to write the chapter and not get behind (like I did with my other multi-chapter story).**

**If I figure out who I want Franny to look like I might have a picture of her up on my profile soon. *crosses fingers***

**Okay, I'm going to stop yapping now. Hope to read some great reviews for this chapter!**

**And the next chapter will be up on Thursday night. (very specific, aren't I? I figure after the next episode we'll need some family fun because I'm fairly certain the next episode promises angst.)**

**Kisses, Becks**


	5. They Call It A Cliche

_AN: Okay! So! The episode just ended here and I was right, wasn't I? Definitely need some cheering up. I worked my butt off on this chapter and I still don't know if it's good enough. Oh well, it'll have to be good enough._

Disclaimer: I do not own Supernatural or any of the characters.

* * *

**Playing Matchmaker**

Written by Becks Rylynn

* * *

_Chapter Four: They Call It A Cliche_

Ruby had been to hell. She had endured hundreds of years of torture in the pit and then she had done the torturing herself. She was a demon who remembered being human, which sometimes really sucked by the way. She had been poisoned once, which was a horrible experience. She had been dragged through a hell of a lot of crap during the war. Oh yeah and there was a small possibility she might have fallen for a Winchester somewhere along the way too. But she would prefer not to talk about that.

All in all, she had been through a lot.

None of that compared to this. This was hell all over again. It was official. Mia Karpentar was the devil. The girl - oops. Sorry. The _woman_ (pfft!) had been talking nonstop for fifteen minutes about her dress. Okay, so maybe your wedding was supposed to be the happiest day of your life, but was it really necessary to describe your dress _six_ times? Ruby didn't think so.

''...And it really is the most beautiful thing you'll ever see,'' Mia was saying as she scribbled happily in a thank you card. Another thing! Who send out thank you cards _before_ the wedding? Humph. Maybe she was a witch. Which would mean it would be best to get rid of her while there was still time. Ruby nearly smiled at the thought but kept her lips drawn into a careful line as she put card after card into envelopes. Her fingers were becoming seriously damaged from all the paper cuts.

''Ruby?'' A feminine hand invaded her line of vision, engagement ring sparkling in the sunlight. ''Ruby, are you listening to me?''

The blonde looked up sharply and smiled a smile that was so obviously fake. Anyone could tell it wasn't real. Anyone but Mia that is. ''Sorry, what? I must have zoned out there for a second.'' Licking her lips nervously, Ruby attempted to make her smile a little more real and pretended she wasn't thinking of bad things. ''I haven't had enough coffee today.''

''I said you'll have to come and see my dress. Maybe after we're done here we could stop by the dress shop and I could try it on for you.''

_'Yeah, 'cause that sounds like a romping good time.'_

''They're still making some adjustments,'' Mia continued, ''but I'm sure they'll let us - ''

''Oh, no, Mia, really that's okay. I...'' Ruby swallowed hard and tried to think of an excuse around the slight panic lining her brain. ''I wouldn't want to ruin the surprise.'' When Mia seemed accepting of her answer, Ruby barely managed to stifle a relieved sigh. The last thing she wanted to do was see Mia in a white wedding gown, looking more beautiful then she ever would be. The last thing she wanted to think about was Mia walking down the aisle towards Dean, ready to start forever.

_Forever._

The word rolled around in her head and she momentarily froze, hand slipping, earning her finger another paper cut she could barely feel. Stubbornly, she pushed away the slight feeling of grief and jealousy and told herself none of the other wives had been forevers. Maybe Mia wasn't either. A girl could hope.

''Can I ask you something, Rubes?'' Mia spoke suddenly and Ruby's heart constricted. She was glad the gi - woman wasn't looking at her or she would see blue eyes flash black. _No one _was allowed to call her that. No one except Dean.

''Sure,'' she managed to get out through gritted teeth.

The young bride-to-be looked up, face suddenly serious, eyes narrowed in suspicion. ''Have you and Dean ever...you know...have you ever....?''

Ruby paused for a brief second, but carefully avoided acting like that question hadn't totally hit her like a slap in the face. Her hands carefully placed an envelope down onto the table and slowly, a smirk formed on her lips as she looked up to meet the other woman's eyes, glad Mia was too dense to see the danger hidden behind blue eyes. ''You mean have we ever slept together?''

Mia blushed and looked away like she was ashamed of the question. Slowly, she nodded. ''Yeah.''

Ruby did not like to think of herself as a very emotional person. However...when she thought of that night a few years back - and thinking about it was pretty much inevitable - she felt an array of very much unwelcome emotions spiraling through her head and heart. She would have loved to say to the ditz ''yes, we slept together and guess what, honey? I'll bet you can't make him scream like I can.''

But she didn't say that.

Unfortunately.

Instead she quirked the smallest smile ever and concentrated on enveloping. ''No. We're just friends.''

You dirty little liar, you.

''Oh,'' Mia's face clouded with relief and she drew in a deep breath, placing a hand over her heart. ''Good. I was really worried there for a second.'' Only a second?_ 'Come now, Mia, surely you're not that stupid. You have to see everything hiding between Dean and that....._blonde,' a tiny voice in her head drawled in a silky smooth voice. Mia shook the thought away easily and smiled again. Very wide, very white, _very_ fake. ''You know, Ruby, I'm really glad we're spending time together.'' She paused and waited for a ''yeah, me too,'' but it never came. Ruby's eyes remained blank as she blinked at Mia like she had two heads. The younger girl simply shrugged and carried on talking.

And boy could she ever talk.

''I've always liked you, you seem so nice and kind....''

Really? Which Ruby are you talking about?

''...And you're really great with Ben, which is a relief because honestly, I'm not real sure about him. He doesn't seem to be very interested in anything at school. You know, important stuff, like football and...other...boy stuff. I don't want him to end up being unpopular. Nobody likes the unpopular kids. And I never understand him. He barely speaks to me. When I first met him I thought he was mute.''

There was a letter opener on the table. It would be real easy to do her in. Ruby closed her eyes and imagined what could happen if she gave in to animal instincts and leapt across the table, stabbing until the young woman was dead, dead, _dead. _And she smiled.

Mia continued to talk like she couldn't see the murderous smile on her blonde 'friend's' face. ''I'm glad you're here because truthfully, I don't think I would be able to put up with Ben if it was just me and Dean.''

Ruby's eyes snapped open and her lips twisted into a scowl that Mia didn't see. ''He's been through a lot,'' she snapped, defensively. Oh, hell no. Mia could bash anyone she wanted. Except Ben Winchester. That boy was off limits. ''He doesn't trust people that easily.'' With good reason.

Mia shrugged again and refused to lift her eyes from what she was doing. ''Whatever. Where was I? Ah, yes. I think you and I could be great friends, don't you? I think we have a lot in common.''

_'Not bloody likely, barbie.'_

''Trust me,'' Mia lifted her gaze briefly to shoot Ruby a grin that looked....a little bit psychotic. ''We're going to be BFF's by the time this wedding is over.''

What the hell did BFF mean?

''Ohmigod!'' Mia's voice suddenly turned high and shrill and most unpleasant, causing Ruby to jump in surprise. The brunette looked up, eyes alight with excitement. ''I just got the bestest idea ever!''

She did _not_ just say _the bestest idea ever._ Yeah, she did. Well...that was just...that was just pathetic.

Before Ruby could snicker (and she felt one coming on) Mia reached out and grabbed Ruby's hands, ignoring her hiss of pain when Mia's rough grip agitated all the paper cuts. ''Guess what?! Guess what?! Guess what?!''

_'You happened to take a whole bunch of drugs before I got here?'_

''One of my friends can't make it to the wedding - her mother's, like, in the hospital or something - I know how rude, she couldn't go see her _after_ my wedding? Anyways, she was supposed to be one of the bridesmaids and now I'm one short! Isn't that great?!''

Oh.

Dear.

God.

This must be the way the world ends.

Fighting very hard not to let her face contort in horror, Ruby bit back a nasty comment that would make Lucifer himself blush and pulled her hands free of Mia's surprisingly strong grip.

''Ruby, you can be my bridesmaid!''

Yep. This was hell alright. ''Uh....listen, Mia....'' Ruby grimaced and bit down hard on her lip, searching the room desperately for some sort of distraction. Should she say she had to go somewhere? Should she politely decline? Or should she snarl, show Mia her black eyes, and proceed to rip her heart out through her throat? Personally, she was leaning towards the last one.

Luckily, the sound of the front door opening and Ben's voice calling out ''I'm home!'' prevented the crime from taking place.

''Oh!'' Ruby was on her feet in less than a second, distancing herself from Mia. ''Ben's home!'' The kitchen door swung open and Ben entered looking slightly flushed and a little nervous. ''Ben! You're home!'' Relief coursed through her and she grabbed the kid in a tight hug before she could stop herself. She had never been so happy to see that Winchester boy in her life.

Ben groaned against her strong grip and started to question what the hell she was doing. ''Ruby, what are you....'' But then he saw Mia and it all clicked. ''....Oh.'' If you asked Ben to name one person who could stand Mia Karpentar he wouldn't be able to answer.

The blonde pulled away with a bright smile that made it look like she was auditioning for Leave It To Beaver even though her eyes looked just a little dangerous. ''So, how was school?''

He blinked. ''Ruby, you're scaring me a little bit.''

''Ruby's helping with the wedding!''

Ben grinned, a mirror image of his father's and looked in between the two girls. ''Oh, she is, is she?'' Ruby gave him a look that clearly said ''Get me out of here''. He could understand that. Mia was not easy to be around. ''Hey,'' he smiled and reached out, latching onto Ruby's arm. ''Can I talk to you for a second?'' She let out a breath and shut her eyes in relief, Ben shot Mia a look over her shoulder. ''Excuse us for a second.'' Without waiting for Mia's response, he pulled Ruby out the door, rolling his eyes as he did so.

''Alright,'' Ruby smiled and folded her arms. ''Who's my favourite kid?''

''I'm not a kid.''

''Whatever you say.''

Instead of responding, Ben remembered his own problems and started to pace. There were a lot of things he should have been focusing on right now, but he could only think one thing at the moment; Franny Morelli was a siren. That was the only explanation. Ben knew what sirens did, he had seen first hand a few years back when his father and uncle had been infected. It wasn't pretty. It was a memory Ben would prefer to forget. Seeing his father go after Sam with an axe was not....oh....holy crap. What if he did that? Winchester eyes widened in panic. Sirens were _bad_. And Franny had to be one. He was sure that was what was happening to him. The weird tingling and the strange and unpleasant feeling in his stomach. He was under a spell. That was all.

''You know, Ben,'' Ruby sat down on the couch casually and crossed her legs, looking up at Ben with a raised eyebrow. ''It's pretty easy to see there's something wrong. You're not exactly a closed book, Benjamin. Now, are you going to keep pacing? Or are you going to tell me what's going on?''

''I'm gonna keep pacing.''

''Ben.''

''Ruby.''

''Don't be difficult, I get enough of that from your father.''

He stopped, turned and resisted the urge to smirk, wondering if she realized how much she made them sound like an old married couple. Either she didn't see the humor glinting in his eyes or she was working hard to ignore it. Whatever she was doing, her gaze was completely steady as she stared at him, waiting for him to back down. He actually lasted about three minutes - two minutes more then his father would have lasted - before he broke, drawing in a deep breath and raking a hand through his hair. ''I need you to tell me about sirens.''

Her posture changed, body stiffening slightly, mouth drawing into a thin line. But..if you looked close enough, you could see slight hope dancing through her irises. It would be wrong to say she was hoping there was something supernatural out there, but...Jesus...spending time all alone with Mia really made her want to kill something. Why had she even come? Oh, right. She wanted to scare Dean. Well, that _was_ fun, but this...was not. ''Why?'' She questioned as Ben sank down next to her. ''Do you think there's a siren somewhere?''

''Mmmhmm,'' he nodded, ''at my school.''

She frowned and leaned back against the couch as Ben slumped farther down in his seat like he was trying to disappear. ''See, there's this...'' He cleared his throat nervously and tried to look anywhere but her eyes. She arched an eyebrow, trying to remember the last time she had seen Ben so nervous. ''...There's this...girl...and...and I just...feel...._weird_ whenever I'm around her.''

Oh, no.

No way! Ben couldn't have a...a..._crush._ He was only thirteen, he was still a little boy!

_'Except he's not a little boy anymore and you know it.'_

She bit the inside of her cheek to keep from sighing and tried to decide whether to laugh or cry. She could smile in amusement at the slightly panicked look on his Winchester features. Or she could frown because he was growing up way too fast for her liking and she wasn't sure she was ready to let him go just yet. Settling for a passive expression that gave nothing away, she cleared her throat and licked her lips, deciding calming him down would be the best thing to do in this situation. ''Ben, what exactly are these weird feelings?''

''You want me to...'' His lip curled in disgust. ''...Talk about my feelings?''

''Jesus Christ,'' she groaned and dropped her head into her hands. ''You really are Dean Winchester's son, aren't you?''

Ben pursed his lips. ''Was that an insult or a compliment?''

''You decide.'' She looked up and tried to meet his eyes, but he once again wasn't looking at her. ''Tell me about this girl, Benny.''

Keeping his gaze firmly on his hands to keep the blush creeping up his cheeks hidden, Ben made a non committal noise in response, but when she used her mother voice on him, growling out his name, he decided the safest option would be to talk. ''Okay, okay, geez, don't go all mommy on me. That's scary.'' He sighed and bit his lip slightly. ''Her name is Franny and she's....different then all those other girls. When I'm with her, I feel....like...lighter and....happier and she...she makes me smile and my skin feels all tingly and itchy and there's this weird feeling in my stomach, like...fluttering...like...like...''

''Like butterflies?''

His head snapped up at the sound of her slightly breathless whisper and he fully expected to see her piercing, look-right-through-you gaze that only Ruby could pull off, but her eyes were focused on something else. She looked different...almost...sad.

''Y-Yeah,'' his face scrunched up in confusion. ''How'd you know?''

She smiled softly and turned her gaze back to him momentarily. ''There's no siren, kid, this isn't a spell, this is very normal. You have a crush.''

Ben frowned and crossed his arms with a small huff. A crush? How disgustingly normal. He hated when he was like all the other kids. He'd rather stand out. ''Well, how do I make these stupid butterflies stop fluttering?''

_'When I find out, I'll let you know'._ ''You don't.'' Her eyes moved back to whatever she was staring at so intently. ''You can't drown butterflies, can't ignore then, you can try, but they're always going to be there. If it's not Franny, it'll be someone else.''

He quirked an eyebrow. ''Speaking from personal experience?''

Her gaze fell back to him sharply and there it was; the look-right-through-you Ruby stare. ''Absolutely not.''

Sure. Whatever you say.

Ben tried not to scoff. This was getting tiring. But back to his problems. A crush. _A crush!_ That was all this was? Well, you know what? He did not like it. Nope. In the future, he was going to have to steer clear of crushes.

''Ben?'' Ruby waved a hand in front of his face. ''Anyone home?''

''This is bad.''

''It's not that bad.''

''I don't have time for crushes.''

''Look, kid, no one ever has time for crushes. But you're a thirteen year old boy, thirteen year old boys have feelings.''

''Yes, Ruby,'' he rubbed at his forehead, tiredly. ''I know, I've had the talk.''

Her eyebrows shot up in surprise and she couldn't help the small smile that tugged at the corners of her lips. ''Your father gave you the talk?''

''He tried. But he kept stuttering and blushing. I think he was about a half step away from giggling. He had to take an asprin and go lie down. Uncle Sam gave me the talk. He was actually pretty good at it. Apparently though,'' the teenage Winchester grinned up at her and thought about the night of Rosie Winchester's birth. ''He's all talk.''

''Hmmm....''

The smile was brutally wiped off Ben's face when he thought of Franny and those annoying butterflies reared their ugly heads again. ''Are you sure this is just a crush?'' His voice sounded impossibly small and childish and he winced, clearing his throat. ''Because it's not...it's not very fun.''

''No.'' Was it his imagination or did she sound a little wistful? ''It's not.'' Definitely not just his imagination.

Ruby wet her lips and pushed a strand of blond hair out of her face as she smiled a smile that was more gentle than any other smile that had graced those lips. ''Ben, everyone's been through crushes and puppy love. That's just the way life works. You can't fight it and you certainly can't ignore it. It just happens. Usually at the wrong time, but it happens. It means you're growing up.'' She wouldn't admit it, but...the thought of Ben growing up scared her just a little. Showing uncharacteristic emotion, she stood and bent down to press a light kiss to his forehead. ''Just don't grow up too fast.''

''Ruby!'' Mia's voice floated into the room, cruelly breaking the sweet moment. ''Are you coming back or what?!''

Ruby drew in a deep breath and pinched the bridge of her nose. ''Fuck.''

''Aw,'' Ben smiled a little goofily as he rose to his feet. ''You ruined it.''

''I do_ not _want to go back in there.''

''Do you think Dean would mind if I got a stripper for my bachlorette party?!''

Ruby's eyes lightened considerably and she smiled, tilting her head to the side. ''Although, on second thought....''

''You're very bad.'' Ben shook his head in amusement.

''Damn straight, kiddo.'' Ruby let herself have a moment to prepare herself for more endless blabber about things that had no importance and took a few deep, calming breaths. Mia Karptentar was someone who had the power to make even the most patient person want to commit a thousand sins. Not that Ruby was a patient person...at all. Finally, she let out a breath. ''Okay, I'm going in. Time to deal with the harpy. Wish me luck.''

''Good luck. Don't kill her.''

Ruby muttered something under her breath that Ben couldn't quite manage to decipher. If he had to guess, he would say it was, ''No promises.''

Ben stared after her for a moment, mind reeling with thoughts of that somewhat uncomfortable conversation and Franny and Operation: Whatever He Was Going To Call It. Blowing out a sigh, he turned his gaze around to peer at whatever she had been staring at so intently. When he saw it, he scoffed and rolled his eyes. He really should have known.

It was a picture of his father.

_''You can't drown butterflies, can't ignore then, you can try, but they're always going to be there. If it's not Franny, it'll be someone else.''_

_''Speaking from personal experience?''_

_''Absolutely not.''_

Yeah.

_Sure._

--

_''I think you should ask her out.''_

''Of course you do.''

Surprisingly, Ben _didn't_ roll his eyes at his friend's comment, just kept his eyes trained on the drawing of himself, studying it closely as if he were trying to find a flaw. He came up with nothing. It was perfect. It looked exactly like him down to every last detail. And Franny had cranked it out in less than fifteen minutes. The girl had talent, that much was true. Alright, so this could be an unforseen problem in his plan. How could he sabotage a wedding when all he could think about was Franny?

Love was _not _in the game plan!

And now he was giving himself a headache. Super. Just what he needed.

_''Ben!''_

''Hmm? What?''

_''I asked if you were listening to me, which obviously you were not. What's goin' on in that head of yours, Winchester?''_

''I was just....thinking.''

_''About the plan?''_

Ben was glad Lucas couldn't see him, because if he could he would see the way dark eyes shifted nervously around the room. ''Uh..._yeah_...right. The plan.'' There was a pause and in his mind, Ben could see the slow grin spreading across his best friend's face.

_''Oh my dog! You're thinking about Franny, aren't you?''_

Ben blinked and replayed that sentence in his head. ''Did you just say 'oh my dog'?''

_''Ben,''_ Lucas said seriously, _''what is God spelled backwards?''_

''Oh, for the love of - ''

_''Dog?''_

''Stop that.''

_''So-_ry. _Look who's Mr. Cranky.''_

He drew in a deep breath and ran a hand down his tired and worn face. ''Sorry, I'm just....''

_''In looove?''_

''No.''

_''Crushin' hard?''_

''....Maybe.''

_''Which is why you should ask her out and get it over with.''_

Usually, that would be the part where Ben rolled his eyes and made a flippant, witty remark. Not this time. This time he merely sighed and placed the drawing carefully on his desk as he collapsed backwards onto his bed. He was _supposed _to be thinking about Dean and Ruby. Shaking his head, the dark eyed boy licked his lips and tried not to think about Franny. It was shockingly hard not to think about her gorgeous eyes and shiny hair. Oh...god, he was turning into a lovesick puppy, wasn't he?

''Okay,'' Ben shook it off and tried to focus his mind on the plan. ''I need to get my mind off this Franny thing. Do you have any plans?''

_''Plans for what? Tonight? Well, I was going to stay home and watch Smallville but my Mom and Eddie want to take me out to dinner, so - ''_

''No, you big doofus,'' Ben slapped his forehead with a groan and shook his head. Geez. ''I mean for Operation: Get Dad and - Oh! You know what I mean!''

_''Oooohhh...welll....actually, yeah, I do have an idea. You said you wanted to sabotage the wedding, right?''_

The young Winchester sat up abruptly and his eyes clouded with fascination. Every once and awhile, Lucas_ did _have his genius moments. Of course whatever he was planning could turn out to be stupid and pointless but still.... ''Right.''

_''In my experience - and by experience I mean the things I learn from television - seating charts are very important. And if someone happens to _accidentally_ screw one up....all hell is going to break loose.''_

Yeah. Ben definitely underestimated Lucas Barr sometimes.

--

Getting past Mia would be easy. Lord knows she wasn't the sharpest tack on the board. Ruby on the other hand....Well, now, she was just plain frightening with the way she seemed to know everything. It was like the woman had eyes in the back of her head.

Really.

It wasn't like she was all motherly and all that crap, she was like the cool aunt or something but...sometimes.....

...Let's just say it was very clear that the woman had the instincts of a mother. With her and Dean around, Ben never got away with anything.

Point was; this was a good plan, it had the potential to be very entertaining...._if _Ben could get past Ruby. Well, all he could do was try.

Moving quickly and quietly down the stairs, Ben told himself this would work. He could be quiet, he could get past Ruby no problem. Giving himself this pep talk did not seem to be working. Attempting to stay perfectly calm, Ben crossed the living room and silently poked his head in the kitchen. Neither one of the women noticed him. Mia was standing with her back to the door, reaching for the cupboard. There. Half done. Mia wouldn't notice. But Ruby was still slumped in a chair at the table. However, her eyes were focused on the ceiling...and....Ben leaned closer....oooh. Her eyes were dialated black.

That wasn't good. Hmm. If anything, he could at least stop her from killing Mia.

Curiously, he leaned closer still, trying to hear what Mia was saying that seemed to be letting Ruby's black eyed demon free. He couldn't quite make it out but he was sure he heard the words ''flowers'' and ''frills.'' No wonder Ruby looked ready to kill. And she really did. Her hands were curled into fists, her chest was rising and falling unsteadily like she was trying to keep from screaming, her mouth was drawn into a thin line and then there was the black eyes. Cautiously, he leaned even closer and caught the end of Mia's sentence.

''....But enough about that. You know what we should really be talking about? The wedding night!''

Ben raised his eyebrows at Mia's cackling laugh. Who exactly did she think she was talking to? For a split second, he wondered if that brunette ditz was doing this all on purpose, trying to scare Ruby away. But he shook that thought away and decided she was too dumb to even attempt an evil scheme like that. Ben watched closely as Ruby's chest froze for a fraction of a second as her breath caught in her throat. Her eyes crashed back to blue and something flashed in her irises before she closed her eyes. Her mouth - which had twisted into a scowl - evened out and she remained completely still, looking totally calm and composed.

Her voice didn't waver once as she spoke, ''I don't think that's a very good idea.''

''Oh, why not?'' Mia's hands - more like claws - dug deeper into the kitchen cupboard as she searched for something that obviously was not there. Her voice was impossibly bright and chipper, but Ben was sure he heard something else behind all that cheeriness. ''I know you're just friends or whatever but come on, girly, you have to see how hot he is.''

What's a moment that isn't a moment but isn't quite a second either? What's an inbetween? Is there a word for it? Some kind of title? Because for_ an inbetween_, Ben swore he saw pain flicker brightly like fire on Ruby's features, but it was gone so fast he wasn't sure what he had seen. Fascinating.

Ben took a deep breath, and decided to make his move. Mia's back was to him, Ruby's eyes were closed and her focus was clearly somewhere else and what he needed was right there on the table. Perfect time to move. And he thought he did a pretty good job. He snuck carefully into the kitchen doing his best to ignore Mia's prattling and he had just reached for the seating chart when a hand clamped down on his wrist in a grip like steel. His eyes moved upwards and he found himself starting into blue eyes that felt like they were cutting right through him. He took a risk and snuck a look at Mia but she was too busy talking to notice anything out of the ordinary.

Ruby's gaze moved to the seating chart in his hands and she smirked, raising her eyebrows in question. He gave her a sheepish smile and shrugged his shoulders, hoping he looked charming with his impish grin and innocent eyes. He fidgeted under her gaze and tried to get free, but her grip was too strong and her eyes wouldn't let him look away. She remained locked in an intense eye gaze with the boy for several seconds before she let him go and gave him a look that said, ''Get out of here before I change my mind.''

He smiled in relief and thanks and darted out of the room, seating chart in hand just as Mia turned around. She didn't even notice.

Ruby shook her head and let a small smile wash over her features. _Way_ too much like his father. She didn't even want to know what he was planning on doing with that seating chart.

_''Drats!''_

Mia's exclamation of frustration had Ruby's amusement dying away as she turned her gaze to the brunette. Who said 'drats'? And, oh, was she ever going to hate herself for this, but - ''Is something wrong, Mia?''

''We're out of - ''

''I'll get it!''

'' - Sugar.''

Holy crap! Freedom. Barely managing to contain her glee, Ruby scrambled to her feet and smiled a 100 watt smile at her new 'friend'. Friend. Yeah right. Her new friend who she would like to disembowel. ''I mean,'' she cleared her throat, ''I could go and get some more if you...if you want.''

Mia turned to smile at Ruby like she was her personal savior. ''Would you?''

_'Believe me, if it gets me away from you, I'd do anything.'_ ''Sure, it's no problem.'' Really.

''You're so sweet!'' Mia moved a hand to Ruby's shoulder and didn't notice the way the other woman stiffened immediately. Sweet? Ruby? ''You really should think about my offer, Ruby. Think about it,'' she laughed, a high twinkly laugh, like glass shattering. ''When are you ever going to get the chance to be a bridesmaid again?''

Oooohhh.

Bitch.

_'You can take your friendly offer and shove it up your - '_

''Right,'' Ruby smiled, bright and fake. ''I'll think about it.''

Liar.

--

''I'm a very bad person and I should be shot.''

_''Hmmm, I'm going to take a wild guess and say you did not have fun with Mia.''_

''Oh, god,'' Ruby moaned loudly as she slowly walked through the brightly lit aisles of the supermarket, ignoring the way people glanced at her at her loud moan. ''Why did I do that, Dean? Was I high or something? Why did I ever agree to go over there?''

On the other line, Dean chuckled and in turn, she felt her own lips twitch in a smile._ ''You wanted to piss me off, remember?''_

''Ah, right. Did it work?''

_''You betcha.''_

''Great. Mission accomplished.'' Deliberately, she ducked into the wrong aisle, trying to prolong this trip to the grocery store. In all honesty, it should have been a five minute trip. She had already been here for fifteen minutes, safe under the flourescent lights, safe away from Mia. Gi - Woman was a bloody menace. ''So, what did you do today?''

_''Did you really just ask me what I did today? Do you have a fever?''_

''I'm trying to drag this out. I do not want to go back there. Your fiancee sure is a talker.''

_''No comment.''_

''You just don't want to sleep on the couch.'' She grinned and looked up. As soon as she did, her eyes fell on the man a few feet ahead of her. He was very clean cut, preppy looking, late twenties, early thirties, he was...kinda cute. Yeah, so sue her. Just because she was _Ruby_ didn't mean she couldn't notice a cute guy. But that wasn't what made her raise her eyebrows in interest. She had seen a lot of cute guys. He was different. No, not for the reasons you'd think. It wasn't like she could see into his soul or something Shakespeare like that. She could simply see he was having a conversation.....

....With a bag of frozen peas.

What was it with Lawrence and crazies? It was like an epidemic.

Before she could stop herself, she had let out a bark of laughter. Stranger looked up, she turned away.

_''What's so funny?''_

Oh! Right! Dean. She was talking to Dean. Geez, Ruby, don't go all schoolgirl. ''Nothing. I just...nothing. Listen, Dean, I think you need to have a talk with Ben when you get home.''

_''Why? Did he get in trouble at school? I told him not to get caught.''_

She rolled her eyes and tried not to think about the fascinating man behind her. ''No, Dean, he didn't get in trouble. He has a crush.''

_''Jesus, now _that's_ starting? Aww, hell. I hate the teenage years. Do you have any idea what I went through during Sam's teenage years? The kid was like the antichrist.''_

Pause.

_''I just realized that wasn't funny.''_

''Nope.''

_''Back to Ben. Who is this girl? What's her name? Is she pretty? Is she good enough for him? He's not going to go and make a fool of himself, is he? Is he going to brood, because I don't - ''_

During his little speech, she was trying to find the will to move. Her feet wouldn't let her. She was pondering this when she felt a tap on her shoulder and had to choke back a gasp as she whirled around to face the newcomer. ''Dean....'' She cut off his ramblings without a moment of hesitation. ''I'm going to have to call you back.''

_''Ruby, we were in the middle of a - ''_

''And we'll finish it later,'' she explained patiently.

_''But - ''_

''Bye, short bus.'' She flipped her phone shut with an exaggerated snap and arched an eyebrow at the handsome stranger. ''Can I help you?''

He sighed and stuffed his hands into his pockets. ''Look, since there's only two of us in this aisle, I think it's pretty safe to say you were laughing at me.''

''You don't know that,'' she snapped, crossing her arms. ''I was on the phone. For all you know, I could have been laughing at something my friend said.''

He blinked and stared at her like he was trying to stare her down. She stared right back, meeting his eyes, unwilling to back down. From where she stood, his eyes looked hazel, but the lighting sucked ass so who knows? Whatever. Just as long as they weren't green.

''You were laughing at me, weren't you?''

A wide smile broke out on her face and she couldn't help but laugh. ''What'd you expect, guy? You were talking to a bag of frozen peas.''

''Eh,'' he shrugged carelessly and his eyes grew slightly arrogant as he rose a hand to pick at his nails absently. ''Makes me all the more special.''

''It sure does,'' she agreed. ''Stop-eating-the-paste special.''

He frowned at that, eyebrows knitting together in displeasure. ''Yeah, well, I bet you've never met anyone else who can talk to peas.''

''No. But I know someone who can talk to angels.''

''Huh.'' He blinked a few more times and stared at her, most likely trying to decipher if she was kidding. When her eyes gave nothing away and her face remained blank, he worked his mouth like he was trying to say something. She didn't even crack a smile....even though she really, _really_ wanted to. Finally, he shook his head and waved a hand dismissively. ''Fine, you win.''

''Yeah, I always do. Now, run along,'' she sneered, eyes darkening with lethal amusement. ''I hear the frozen pizzas have really great gossip. Bet they're just dying for someone to listen.'' She started to brush past him, but he grabbed her arm, spinning her back around. Hm. Brave, wasn't he? That was a good way to lose an arm.

''Wait. I..I feel the need to say that I am not crazy.''

''Whatever you say.''

''No. Seriously,'' he sighed and ran a hand through dark hair. ''I don't usually...talk to frozen vegetables, I've just...had a really bad day.''

She scoffed, unimpressed. ''Are you trying to gain my sympathy? Because, sweetheart, I don't do sympathy.''

He rolled his eyes. ''I'm not trying to get sympathy. I just don't like it when people think I'm crazy.''

''Yeah, well....'' What the hell was she doing? Was she flirting? Was this flirting? She had never done that before, she didn't do flirting. That was just so...so..._human_. In the years that she had been topside, she had been on a total of two dates. Count 'em. Two. And they had both been pathetic attempts to think about anyone but De..._someone_. She was not a dating person. She was not a relationship person. She wasn't a freaking_ person _to begin with. Not really. So...what the fuck was she doing? ''...Trust me, it takes a lot more then some veggie tales to make me think you're crazy.''

He laughed, eyes crinkling slightly. ''Veggie tales, that's a good one.''

Despite her better judgement (which she knew was lurking somewhere in there) she smiled. ''I try.''

''So,'' he tilted his head to the side and gave her a look. ''The frozen pizzas have good gossip, huh?''

''Oh yeah,'' she nodded seriously and leaned closer to him, whispering conspiratorially. ''See, the frozen waffles are with the frozen yogurt but I hear they're messing around with the ice cream.''

''Ooh, scandalous.''

She laughed. An actual, _real_ laugh. ''Very.''

He smiled at her and...and it was nothing like the way Dean smiled at her. She wasn't sure how that made her feel. But...you know what? She had dedicated her whole life to those Winchesters. And now Sam was married with a baby daughter and Dean was...she swallowed...Dean was getting married, hell, even Ben had the whole puppy love thing going on. And what did she have? Absolutely nothing. She had no husband, (not that she ever would) no kids, (ew) she had...what did she have? A _friend_? No. It was _her_ turn. She wanted a little something.

''I figure I should introduce myself,'' he said, unaware of her thoughts, ''just so you don't start calling me Pea Guy. That would be a horrible nickname. I'm Eric.''

He held out his hand and she paused, for just a moment, as she thought of Dean and Ben. But, Dean had Mia and Ben was growing up and for once...she wanted something to be about _her._ Was that too much to ask for? She didn't think so. So she took his hand and smiled wider. ''I'm Ruby.''

And you know the best thing about this Eric guy so far?

He was nothing like _Dean Winchester._

--

_Snip, snip, snip._

When Mia Karpentar was a little girl, her mother used to tell her this nursery ryhme. It went like this:

_Little Miss Muffet sat on a tuffet,_

_Eating her curds and whey,_

_Along came a spider,_

_Who sat down beside her,_

_And frightened Miss Muffet away_

At first she hadn't liked the poem. Hadn't really understood it. What the hell was a tuffet and why was this chick sitting on one? What exactly were curds and whey? And why the hell had this girl been so afraid of a teensy little spider? Slowly, as she grew older, became a teenager, she began to see a different side of the story. One she liked much better.

This spider had obviously wanted those curds and whey so much that he had been willing to do anything to get them. Even scaring a poor, defenseless girl half to death. At this point in her life, Mia could identify with that spider.

You see, Mia Karpentar liked to _play_ dumb. Liked to act innocent and bubbly. In reality, she wasn't like that. Not at all. She saw what everyone thought she didn't, she knew Ruby hated her, she knew the way that blonde bitch felt about _her_ fiance. She _saw_ the way Dean looked at Ruby. And she didn't like it.

You know what they say; keep your friends close and your enemies closer.

_Snip, snip, snip._

Head tilted to the side, lip curled in disgust, Mia looked at the picture in her hands. The picture of Dean, Ben and _Ruby._ She was really going to have to do something about that, because that just wouldn't do. That wouldn't do at all. Carefully, she cut across the picture and watched as Ruby fell down, down, down. She smirked and plucked the photo from the table, bringing the blade of the scissors to the blonde's neck.

''Watch out Little Miss Ruby...'' She smiled. ''....Along came a spider.''

_Snip._

Okay....

....Can anyone say _issues?_

**end chapter four**

* * *

**AN: Oh, dear. Did you honestly think Mia was just going to be the only problem? Oh no. There's a whole lot more drama coming up! So, Mia's a little crazy isn't she? Yeah, well, it was just too good to pass up. She was originally just going to be a ditz but the whole bad girl thing seemed too fun to pass up. And this whole Eric thing? I've got big plans for that boy. Kinda. While he is going to be a roadblock for D/R, I did sort of love that cute meeting. It's been in my head forever and I had to put it in_ something._ This chapter ended up a whole lot longer then I had intented and I honestly have no idea how it got so long. Dean wasn't even in it! And yes, there was going to be more of Mia/Ruby interaction but I opted for some Ruby/Ben family fluff instead. I promise to get Dean and Ruby in the next room in chapter five.**

**So far, I'm not sure when the next chapter's going to be up but I'm already working on it!**

**Kisses, Becks**


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